Conscious Communities

Schools, Spending, and Educational Outcomes

2007-04-28T06:56:00.000-05:00

A community must be educated to be conscious!

Is your local school district spending enough on student education? Is that even the right question? Maybe a better one is: "Is spending on education cost-effective in getting the desired educational outcomes?" We have a major problem in many districts nationwide in helping our kids to learn and attain the knowledge and skills they will need to succeed. By the way, the schools parents, the community, and students all have a role to play in attaining these outcomes.

U.S. public school districts spent an average of $8,287 per student in 2004, up from the previous year’s total of $8,019. In all, public elementary and secondary education received $462.7 billion from federal, state and local sources in 2004, up 5.1 percent from 2003.

Findings from the 2004 Annual Survey of Local Government Finances – School Systems show that New Jersey spent $12,981 per student in 2004 -- the most among states and state equivalents -- the U.S. Census Bureau reported today. Utah, at $5,008, spent the least per student.

New York ($12,930) and the District of Columbia ($12,801) were second and third in spending per student. Vermont ($11,128) and Connecticut ($10,788) rounded out the top five. Along with Utah, Idaho ($6,028), Arizona ($6,036), Oklahoma ($6,176) and Mississippi ($6,237) comprised the lowest five in money spent per student.

The state governments contributed the greatest share of public elementary and secondary school funding at $218.1 billion. In 2004, state governments contributed 47.1 percent of school funding, down from 49.0 percent in 2003. Local sources contributed 43.9 percent at $203.3 billion. The federal government’s share, which came to $41.3 billion in 2004, rose from 8.4 to 8.9 percent.

Other findings:

Public school systems spent $472.3 billion, up 4.1 percent from 2003. Spending on elementary-secondary instruction increased from $236.0 billion in 2003 to $245.2 billion in 2004. About $138.5 billion was spent on services that support elementary-secondary instruction, and $52.3 billion was spent on capital outlay.

Instructional salaries totaled $170.6 billion in 2004, up 2.2 percent from 2003.

The tabulations contain data on revenues, expenditures, debt and assets for all individual public elementary and secondary school systems.

Liberal Communities

2007-04-25T06:10:00.000-05:00

Which communities are most liberal in their politics, lifestyle and values? ePodunk has an answer to this question.

ePodunk considered the following data in making our selections:

Individual contributions to PACs: It analyzed 1.8 million contributions to 2,300 political action committees that could be identified as Democratic/Liberal or Republican/Conservative. This data, for the 2003-2004 election cycle, was downloaded from the Federal Election Commission on Nov. 9.

Election returns: Unofficial election results in the 2004 presidential race were reported at the county level for every county in the U.S., and at the local level for many New England communities.

Gay households: This index was compiled from the U.S. Census by Gary Gates, a demographer at the Urban Institute and co-author of The Gay and Lesbian Atlas. Figures were included for the 1,360 U.S. communities in which 50 or more couples reported living in such relationships.

Local government resolutions opposing combat in Iraq

Local officials performing gay marriages

Congressional District voting history(Note: Because this factor was part of the screen for rankings, Washington, D.C., which does not have congressional representation, was excluded from our study. Washington residents who do not live in the White House showed strong liberal leanings in their votes for president and political contributions. The city also has a large number of gay households.)

BIG CITIES (100,000 or more) Boston, MA Cambridge, MA Berkeley, CA Oakland, CA San Francisco, CA New Haven, CT Providence, RI New York, NY Baltimore, MD Seattle, WA

MEDIUM CITIES (25,000-99,999) Northampton, MA Somerville, MA Arlington, MA Watertown, MA Santa Cruz, CA Alameda, CA Ithaca, NY Portland, ME East Palo Alto, CA Chelsea, MA

SMALL CITIES (Under 25,000) Provincetown, MA Mount Rainier, MD Albany, CA Fairfax, CA Garrett Park, MD Orono, ME Takoma Park, MD Guerneville, CA Bar Harbor, ME Johnson, VT

MOST LIBERAL IN STATE (For selected states) AZ - Flagstaff CA - Berkeley CO - Telluride CT - Salisbury FL - Wilton Manors GA - Decatur IA - Iowa City IL - Oak Park KS - Lawrence MA - Boston MD - Mount Rainier ME - Orono MI - Ferndale MN - Golden Valley MO - Kansas City NC - Carrboro NH - Hanover NJ - Montclair NM - Santa Fe NY - Ithaca OH - Oberlin OR - Lincoln City PA - Philadelphia RI - Providence TX - Bellaire VA - Baileys Crossroads VT - Johnson WA - Vashon WI - Madison

Latest Local Area Personal Income Data

2007-04-23T11:23:00.000-05:00

Personal income grew faster in 2004 than in 2003 in most of the nation's metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), according to estimates released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Fewer than one in six MSAs grew slower in 2004 than in the previous year. Most of these slower growing MSAs are in the Great Lakes Region and have a relatively large motor vehicle manufacturing sector.

Income growth in the faster-growing MSAs reflects faster growth in wages per job as well as in employment and population. Wages per job increased 4.1 percent in the faster-growing areas, one percentage point more than in the slower-growing areas. Average employment growth was 1.4 percent and population growth was 1.1 percent in the faster-growing areas. In contrast, employment growth of 0.4 percent did not keep pace with population growth of 0.6 percent in the slower-growing areas.

Almost 100 MSAs lost population or employment or both during the year. Nevertheless, personal income increased in all but five MSAs and per capita income grew in all but seven MSAs. Per capita income grew faster than inflation (2.6 percent as measured by the national price index for personal consumption expenditure) in all but 19 MSAs.

Per capita income rankings. The table below lists the MSAs with highest and lowest per capita incomes. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut continued to have the highest per capita income of all MSAs in 2004. The average income of $62,979 was nearly double the national average and more than four times greater than the last place MSA. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington is new to the top ten, displacing Sebastian-Vero Beach, Florida. The special Microsoft dividend paid at the end of 2004 contributed to Seattle's rise since many of the largest shareholders live there.

McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas continued to have the lowest per capita income of all MSAs. Its average income of $15,460 was less than half of the national average. Nine of the ten MSAs with the lowest per capita incomes in 2003 also had the lowest incomes in 2004. Las Cruces, New Mexico is new to the bottom ten this year, displacing Madera, California.

Source: US Bureau of Economic Analysis

American Community Survey: A Resource for You

2007-04-21T06:38:00.000-05:00

Here is a community data source you should know about. The American Community Survey (ACS) is a new nationwide survey designed to provide communities a fresh look at how they are changing. It is a critical element in the Census Bureau's reengineered 2010 census plan. The ACS collects information such as age, race, income, commute time to work, home value, veteran status, and other important data from U.S. households. As with the official decennial census, information about individuals will remain confidential.

Three Million Households to be Surveyed

The ACS collects and produces population and housing information every year instead of every ten years. About three million households are surveyed each year, from across every county in the nation. Collecting data every year reduces the cost of the official decennial census, and provides more up-to-date information throughout the decade about trends in the U.S. population at the local community level.

Expanding Local Coverage

The ACS began in 1996 and has expanded each subsequent year. Data from the 2005 ACS are available for geographic areas with a population of 65,000 or more, including 761 counties, 436 congressional districts, 602 metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, all 50 states, and the District of Columbia.

Access the survey data here.

Blacksburg, Virginia: Getting to Know the Community

2007-04-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

We are all saddened by the Virginia Tech tragedy. Our hearts go out to the students and faculty members killed and injured by this Monday's shooting massacre. We pray for healing and peace for the Virigina Tech community and the Town of Blacksburg.

The recent tragedy got me to thinking about Blackburg, a community I have heard many wonderful things about over the years. You may find the results of a 2006 community survey to be of interest in light of this tragedy.

In 2006, citizens of Blacksburg, VA participated in a major community survey sponsored by the National Citizen Survey. Here are some highlights of the survey results.

As assessed by the survey, about 11% of Blacksburg residents have lived in thecommunity for more than 20 years and 23% are over age 34. Another 5% are over age 64. Seventy-one percent are currently employed; 70% rent; 30% own and 26% live in detached single family homes. Over 94% of Blacksburg residents have at least somecollege and 28% have annual household incomes above $50,000. Four percent of Blacksburg residents reported that they are Spanish, Hispanic or Latino and 84% saidthey are White or Caucasian. Quality of Life

When asked to rate the overall quality of life in Blacksburg, 26% of respondents thought it was “excellent.” Only 1% rated overall quality of life as “poor.” In 2006, the rating Blacksburg as a place to raise children received an average rating of 72 on a 100-point scale in 2003, compared to 70 in 2006.

Ratings of Community Characteristics

In 2006, the highest rated characteristics of Blacksburg were overall image/reputation of Blacksburg, overall appearance, and sense of community. The average rating on a 100-point scale given to overall appearance of Blacksburg in 2006 was 67 compared to 69 in 2003. When asked about potential problems in Blacksburg, the three concerns rated bythe highest proportion of respondents as a “major problem” in 2006 were traffic congestion and too much growth. In 2006 11% rated traffic congestion as a “major problem” compared to 13% in 2003.

Perceptions of Safety

When evaluating safety in the community, 85% of respondents felt “somewhat” or “very safe” from violent crimes in Blacksburg in 2006, compared to 89% in 2003. In their neighborhood after dark, 85% of survey participants felt “somewhat” or “very safe” in 2006, compared to 91% in 2003. In 2006, as assessed by the survey, 11% of households reported that at least one memberhad been the victim of one or more crimes in the past year. In 2003, 13% of households had reported that at least one member had been a crime victim. Of those who had been the victim of a crime in 2006, 60% had reported it to police.

World Cities with Highest Quality of Life

2007-04-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

Zurich (pictured to left) and Geneva are the best cities in the world as far as quality of live is concerned, says Mercer Consulting in a survey published in April 2007. Vancouver (Canada) is placed third, followed by Vienna (Austria), Auckland (New Zealand), Düsseldorf (Germany) and Frankfurt (Germany). Paris, London and Madrid are in the lower half of the top-50 table. Overall, Baghdad is not surprisingly the lowest ranking city in the survey.

Other cities in Europe and Australia continue to dominate the top end of the rankings for overall quality of living. In fact, there are very few changes in the top half of the 2007 table. Auckland and Düsseldorf share joint fifth place and score 107.3 points. Frankfurt and Munich follow with scores of 107.1 and 106.9 respectively. Bern and Sydney both score 106.5 points and share joint 9th place. However, Paris is only ranked 33rd, with London in 39th place. Madrid improved from 45th, in 2006, to 42nd place in 2007. Oslo gains five places at the expense of Dublin, which drops to 27th place.

The analysis is based on an evaluation of 39 quality-of-living criteria for each city including political, social, economic and environmental factors, personal safety and health, education, transport and other public services.

Baghdad remains the world’s least enticing city for expatriates with a score of 14.5. Other low-scoring cities for overall quality of living include Brazzaville in Congo (29.5), Bangui in the Central African Republic (30.6) and Khartoum in Sudan (31).

The survey makes clear that in recent years, the gap between low-ranking and high-ranking cities had widened. “While standards have improved in some regions, there remains a stark contrast between those cities where overall quality of living is good and those experiencing political and economic turmoil,” the authors say. Source: CityMayors

Community Profile: Chapel Hill, NC

2007-04-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

Chapel Hill is a town in North Carolina and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), the oldest state-supported university in the United States. As of the 2000 census, it had a population of 48,715. As of 2004 its estimated population was 52,440.

The 2005 Metropolitan Population was: 1,509,560, for The US Office of Management and Budget's Metropolitan Combined Statistical Area known as Raleigh-Durham-Cary (formerly known as the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Statistical Area).

Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh make up the three corners of the Research Triangle, so named in 1959 with the creation of the Research Triangle Park, a research park between Durham and Raleigh. Since the early 1980s, the bedroom community of Cary, near Raleigh, has grown to be more than twice the size of Chapel Hill.

As is typical of college towns, Chapel Hill has historically tended to be politically liberal. In fact, disgruntled conservatives have referred to the town as "The People's Republic of Chapel Hill." Former U.S. Senator Jesse Helms once called the town a "zoo" and suggested it be "walled off" from the rest of North Carolina.

In addition to the high per capita income and highly educated adult population, residents of Chapel Hill have made public education a priority; resulting in Chapel Hill being widely recognized for the quality of its school system, which it shares with Carrboro. Chapel Hill's two high schools, East Chapel Hill High and Chapel Hill High, are rated as the 38th and 74th best high schools in the U.S. by Newsweek, respectively.

The town also shares with Carrboro a vibrant music scene. Cat's Cradle in Carrboro is often rated as one of the best clubs in the country for live music, and Local 506 and other Chapel Hill bars (such as the Cave, and Reservoir) often host local, national, and international acts in all genres. Valient Thorr, The Squirrel Nut Zippers, Superchunk, Archers of Loaf, James Taylor, Southern Culture on the Skids, and Ben Folds Five are among the notable musical acts whose careers began in Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill has also been a center for the modern revival of old-time music with such bands as the Hollow Rock String band, the Fuzzy Mountain String band and the acclaimed Red Clay Ramblers.

Chapel Hill was also the founding home of now defunct indie label, Mammoth Records and is also the founding home of another top indie label, Yep Roc Records which is owned by Redeye Distribution. Bruce Springsteen has also made a point to visit the town on several tours. His most recent appearance was on September 14, 2003 at Kenan Stadium with the E Street Band, and his fourth appearance overall. U2 also played at Kenan on the first date of their 1983 "War Tour" where Bono infamously climbed up to the top of the stage, during pouring rain and lightening, holding up a white flag for peace.

Also, Chapel Hill is rapidly becoming somewhat of a hot spot for pop American cuisine – which is likely due to the college town's entrepreneur-friendly business startup environment and national media attention surrounding a few local culinary notables, like Foster’s Market (Martha Stewart’s Living), Caffé Driade (Food Network’s “$40 A Day With Rachael Ray”), The Cackalacky Classic Condiment Company (Food Network's "BBQ With Bobby Flay" and "Rachael Ray's Ball Park Cafe Special," Comedy Central's "Insomniac," OLN's "BBQ All Star Showdown," Associated Press, Public Radio International, etc.), and The Lantern Restaurant (Food & Wine Magazine, Southern Living Magazine, etc.)

The area of Chapel Hill and Carborro combined is home to many hip, independently owned coffee shops (such as Open Eye Cafe, 3 Cups, Caffe Driade, and Padgett Station) and bars.

The Morehead Planetarium was, when it opened in 1949, one of only a handful of planetariums in the nation, and it has remained an important town landmark. During the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs, astronauts were trained there. One of the town’s hallmark features is the giant sundial, located in the rose gardens in front of the planetarium on Franklin Street. UNC-CH has been very successful at college basketball and women’s soccer (Mia Hamm played as an undergraduate at UNC) and an obsession with the sport has been one of the most distinctive features of the town's culture, fueled by the rivalry among North Carolina's four ACC teams: the UNC Tar Heels, the Duke Blue Devils, the NC State Wolfpack, and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. More recently, the town has received regional notice as the site of a large annual Halloween street party, with an attendance regularly exceeding 70,000.

The colorful brick wall of an alley: one of many murals in Chapel Hill by artist Michael J. Brown. For more than thirty years Chapel Hill has sponsored two annual street fairs, Apple Chill (which was canceled in 2006 due to increasing violence in April and Festifall in October. The fairs offer booths to artists, craftsmen, nonprofits, and food vendors. Performance space is also available for musicians, martial artists and other groups. Both fairs are attended annually by tens of thousands.

Like many college towns, Chapel Hill has some unique retail opportunities. A Southern Season is based in Chapel Hill, although it also serves a wider audience through its mail-order business. Chapel Hill also has some village communities, such as Meadowmont Village and Southern Village. Meadowmont and Southern Village both have shopping centers, green space where concerts and movies take place, community pools, and schools.

Chapel Hill, or at least the town center, indeed sits atop a hill--originally called New Hope Chapel Hill after the chapel once located there. The Carolina Inn now occupies the site of the original chapel. The town was founded, in 1819, to serve the University of North Carolina and grew up around it. The town was chartered in 1851, and its main street, Franklin Street, was named in memory of Benjamin Franklin.

In 1968, only a year after its schools became fully integrated, Chapel Hill became the first predominantly white municipality in the country to elect an African American mayor, Howard Lee. Lee served from 1969 until 1975 and, among other things, helped establish Chapel Hill Transit, the town's bus system. Some 30 years later, in 2002, legislation was passed to make the local buses free of fares to residents and visitors alike, leading to a large increase in ridership; the buses are financed through Chapel Hill and Carrboro city taxes as well as UNC-CH student fees.

In the latter part of the 20th century, the town grew considerably and became wealthier, with affordable housing and combating urban sprawl emerging as major local issues.

By the late 20th century, higher proportions of the local population worked at jobs unrelated to the university; town surveys indicated that a majority of people working in the town were no longer able to afford in-town housing, and so many people working for the university itself weren't able to afford to live in Chapel Hill, or even Carrboro, that charter bus lines were doing a brisk business in almost nothing but bringing in from nearby counties a workforce of secretaries and others on which the university depended.

New Census Report: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Survey

2007-04-17T06:21:00.000-05:00

Community consciousness depends upon connectivity. Companies located in them and people living in them must be connected to high-powered information and communication systems. The Census Bureau just released its 2005 ICT survey results. Interesting stuff!

<--Click on image to enlarge.

Supplemental to the current Annual Capital Expenditure Survey (ACES), the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Survey collects investment figures related to technology falling below a company's capitalization threshold. This survey is sent to a sample of approximately 46,000 private non-farm employer businesses operating in the United States.

The ICT survey collects industry-level data for two equipment categories of non-capitalized expenses (purchases and operating leases/rental payments) and two software categories of non-capitalized expenses (purchases and licensing and software service/maintenance agreements).

There are four types of ICT equipment and software (computer and peripheral equipment; ICT equipment excluding computers and peripherals; electromedical and electrotherapeutic apparatus; and computer software (including payroll for developing software). Companies report data for industries in which they operate and incur non-capitalized expenses. Industries in the survey are comprised of 3-digit and selected 4-digit North American Industry Classification System codes.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Federal Reserve Board, Bureau of Labor Statistics and industry analysts use these data to evaluate future productivity and economic growth prospects. In addition, the proposed survey provides improved source data significant to the BEA's investment component of gross domestic product, capital stock estimates, capital flow tables and permits the reconciliation of important differences between reported production and consumption of technology.

Publications in PDF and Spreadsheet

Fastest-Growing Metro Areas Concentrated in West and South

2007-04-16T13:46:00.000-05:00

According to population estimates released today for all metro areas by the U.S. Census Bureau, the Atlanta metro area gained 890,000 residents from April 1, 2000, to July 1, 2006, the largest numerical gain of the nation’s 361 metro areas.

This Georgia metro area (Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta) was the nation’s ninth largest as of July 1, 2006 with a population of 5.1 million. Overall, six metro areas each gained at least 500,000 people between 2000 and 2006.

Dallas-Fort Worth had the second largest numeric increase at 842,000, and totaled about 6 million people. Houston (with an increase of 825,000), Phoenix (787,000) and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. (771,000) rounded out the top five metro area gainers over the time period. The five metro areas experiencing the greatest numeric change between 2000 and 2006 were in the South or West. (See Table 1 Excel PDF.)

The Northeast metro area with the greatest numeric change between 2000 and 2006 was New York (seventh overall nationally), while the Midwest metro area with the greatest numeric change over the same period was Chicago (10th overall nationally).

New York was the most populous metro area on July 1, 2006, with 18.8 million people, followed by Los Angeles (13 million) and Chicago (9.5 million). Fourteen metro areas had populations of 4 million or more. (See Table 2 Excel PDF.)

The New Orleans metro area experienced the greatest numeric loss from April 1, 2000, to July 1, 2006, declining 292,000 since 2000 to 1 million on July 1, 2006. It was followed by Pittsburgh (a loss of 60,000) and Cleveland (a loss of 34,000). The New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La., metro area also had the biggest percentage loss during the same time period at 22.2 percent. It was followed by Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss. (a loss of 7.4 percent) and Weirton- Steubenville, W.Va.-Ohio (a loss of 5.2 percent).

St. George, in the southwestern part of Utah, was the fastest-growing metro area between 2000 and 2006, with a growth of 39.8 percent to total 126,000 on July 1, 2006. Rounding out the top five were Greeley, Colo. (31 percent); Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla. (29.6 percent); Bend, Ore. (29.3 percent); and Las Vegas (29.2 percent). (See Table 3 Excel PDF.)

The 50 fastest-growing metro areas were almost evenly distributed between just two regions — 23 in the West and 25 in the South. One metro area, Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Ark.-Mo., straddled both the South and Midwest regions. Sioux Falls, S.D., was the lone metro area among the top 50 fastest-growing located completely in the Midwest. Of the 50 fastest-growing metro areas, none were in the Northeast. York-Hanover, Pa., the fastest-growing metro area in the Northeast, ranked 95th.

Source: US Census Bureau

Nonprofit Arts and Economic Prosperity

2007-04-15T06:40:00.000-05:00

First released in 1994 and updated in 2002, Arts & Economic Prosperity II reveals that America's nonprofit arts industry generates $134 billion in economic activity every year, including $24.4 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenues. The $134 billion total includes $53.2 billion in spending by arts organizations and $80.8 billion in event-related spending by arts audiences: -The $53.2 billion represents a 45 percent increase (from $36.8 billion) since 1992, when Americans for the Arts last studied spending by arts organizations.

-The $80.8 billion in event-related spending by arts audiences reflects an average of $22.87 per person in spending for hotels, restaurants, parking, souvenirs, refreshments, or other similar costs—with nonlocal attendees spending nearly twice as much as local attendees ($38.05 compared to $21.75).

-The $134 billion in total economic activity has a significant national impact, generating the following:

-4.85 million full-time equivalent jobs

-$89.4 billion in household income

-$6.6 billion in local government tax revenues

-$7.3 billion in state government tax revenues

-$10.5 billion in Federal income tax revenues

Arts & Economic Prosperity II is based on surveys of 3,000 nonprofit arts organizations and more than 40,000 attendees at arts events in 91 cities in 33 states, plus the District of Columbia.

Note: Arts and Economic Prosperity III will be released May 2007.

Source: Americans for the Arts

Understanding City Forms: Theoretical Discussion

2007-04-14T05:53:00.000-05:00

According to faculty members at MIT, three core models have given form to cities throughout history. These are discussed below briefly. (Click on map to left to enlarge it.) The point of including this article on Conscious Communities is that we need to be aware of the "form" of communities.

The Cosmic Model

In the cosmic model, the assertion is that the form of a permanent settlement should be a magical model of the universe and its gods. Such a crystalline city has all of its parts fused into a perfectly ordered whole and change is allowed to happen only in a rhythmically controlled manner. To achieve such form, specific phenomena are included, such as returning, natural items, celestial measurement, fixing location, centeredness, boundary definition, earth images, land geometry, directionality, place consciousness, and numerology. These are acknowledged in creating the city's form by devising methods for finding a good site, making boundaries, subdividing land, determining a center, connecting to celestial forms, fixing coordinates, controlling change, determining social structure, codifying rules, coordinating physics and metaphysics, and reinforcing form through ritual.

The debates about the origin of cities: the spiritual significance in city genesis, argued by Adams, Rykwert, and Mumford, for example, versus the materialist arguments, such as those of Childe, Sjoberg and Jacobs, are discussed in the light of the cosmic model. Examples of the cosmic model are examined in the cases of Roman and Middle Eastern cities (Jerusalem and Babylon) and in cities in China (from the Han to Ming dynasties), India (the significance of the texts on habitation, the mandala form, Jaipur and Madurai), and in Mesoamerica (Teotihuacan, Tenochtitlan and the Mayan cities).

Machine Model

The concept of the city as analogous to a machine has a long history: it occurs often when there is no long-term goal in mind but the settlement has to be created hurriedly and its future growth will be determined by still unforeseen forces. Its form requires a few simple rules in order to get on with the urbanizing task and the outcome is factual, functional and without any attachment to the mystery of the universe. Among its attributes are convenience, speed, flexibility, legibility, equality, and speculation.

These are explored in a set of cases from the 3rd century BC to contemporary times. The workers' dwellings built rapidly close to Egyptian mortuary sites are gridded in a per strigas form, "monotonously alike…, the very pattern of mechanically devised industrial dwelling." Unlike the form of their capital city, the Greek colonial trading cities of the 5th to 3rd centuries BC are made up of equalized rectangular blocks to allow a democracy of lots to its settlers and, according to Mumford, to provide the legibility necessary in a new climate of commercial trade. Despite Rykwert's assertions of the role of metaphysics in Roman city building, rules of castramentation (the cardo and decumanus alignments and equal lots) and centuriation (the fusing of urban and rural land geometries) dominate the creation of the 5,267 settlements built by the Romans. The 13th century colonial expansion of the 177 Bastide towns in south-western France follow an orthogonal order of a pair of double axes marking a center and surrounding equal-sized chequers. Perhaps the most complete and widely imposed practical handbook of city building instructions come from the colonization of the Americas by Spain according to the Laws of the Indies proclaimed in 1573. These laws govern site selection, street and block layout, orientation, central plaza, public buildings, walls, common lands, the distribution of lots, and even the style of buildings.

The American land expansion, both religious and commercial, to the west is examined in the light of "grids of expediency", as is the 19th century expansion of the Manhattan grid as a system which "is the most cheap to build and the most convenient to live in." The assertions of Mumford and Sennett of the capitalist/grid relationship are challenged in this discussion. Finally, many of modern machine appropriations in city form, such as linearity, are explored as are many of the metaphorical attempts to link the form of cities, Archigram, for instance, to those of machines.

Organic Model

The third great normative model, which claims the city to be analogous to a living organism, is more recent, arising with the growth of biology in the 18th and 19th centuries. Its advocates are often critical of other models: the German urbanist, Hans Reichow, in his 1948 book on organic city planning, architecture, and culture, for instance, condemns "simple grids" or "products of the Grand Manner" as "static." The theory of the organic city rests on a number of assumptions about the nature of organisms. Among these is the assertion that an organism is an autonomous individual, that it has a definite boundary and is of a specific size. It does not change merely by adding parts but through reorganization as it reaches limits or thresholds. It contains differentiated parts but form and function are always linked. The whole organism is homeostatic, self-repairing and regulating toward a dynamic balance. Cycles of life and death are normal to organisms as is rhythmic passage from one state to another. From this flows the notion of the form of the organic city. It is a separate spatial and social unit made up internally of highly connected places and people.

A healthy community is heterogeneous and diverse, as in balance as the nuclear family. The micro unit is the neighborhood, a small residential area, defined by Clarence Perry in 1929 as the support area for an elementary school, to which children, the most vulnerable of the human species, can safely walk. Like organisms, settlements are born, grow and mature, and if further growth is necessary, a new entity has to be formed. Thus there are states of optimum size, beyond which pathological conditions ensue. Greeenbelts not only ensure an intimate contact with nature but enclose healthy growth. This model has typical physical forms, among which radial patterns, anti-geometrical layouts, and a proclivity for natural materials. Often the organic idea is extended regionally to connect settlements to valleys, trails and other extended natural systems. There is an attraction to small-scale modes of production or services as opposed to large-scale synthetic processes. Often the model aligns itself with a socio-economic philosophy that sees increases in urban value as the result of communal rather than individual endeavor.

Three cases are examined to locate these principles in practice. In the first case, the ideas and projects of Patrick Geddes are surveyed including his synoptic vision (folded paper, Valley Section, and plan for the Hebrew University), the need for civic inclusion (Outlook Tower), and the benefits of conservative surgery and cultural retention (Indian projects). The second case covers the work of Ebenezer Howard and his attempts to balance country and city, the garden city idea in the plans of Letchworth and Welwyn Garden city, and the details of density, landscape and site planning in the association of the organic with the picturesque. The third case covers the regionalism of the American plans of the early 20th century, the ideas of heterogeneous balance and Georgian socio-economic philosophy in the urban projects of Stein and Wright, including Mayer's plan for Chandigarh.

Source: MITOpenCourseWare: Theory of City Form

Economic Development in Tribal Communities

2007-04-13T04:51:00.000-05:00

Here are some key ovbservations from a recent report on tribal entrepreneurship, commissioned by the Northwest Area Foundation.

Closing the information gap about the state of Native entrepreneurship. There is currently very little quantitative data and corresponding analyses about the state of the private economy on Native reservations and the numbers and characteristics of Native entrepreneurs and their businesses in both rural and urban areas. Not only is there insufficient data, but there is also no centralized, comprehensive resource that provides information on the array of entrepreneurship development services currently available to Native Americans. There is still significant research that needs to take place to effectively “make the case” for the importance of entrepreneurship for Native communities.

Addressing barriers to successful business launch and growth. Nationally, the number of Native individual entrepreneurs has grown significantly in recent years, but in many states, Native individuals still own businesses at a much lower rate per capita than other groups and currently earn less revenue than their non-Native counterparts. Native entrepreneurs face a variety of barriers to successful business launch and growth. While some of these barriers apply to other minority and rural populations, research shows that the barriers such as limited basic infrastructure, remoteness from markets, a lack of an economic base, inexperience with financial and business management, and insufficient business development and financing resources are particularly severe in Native communities.

Characterized by some as “America’s domestic emerging market,” the increased success of some Native businesses, combined with a high demand for financing, training and technical assistance, presents significant opportunities for both investors and service providers alike to meet the needs of this emerging market niche Implementing culturally appropriate strategies. While there is some debate about the cultural relevance of individual entrepreneurship as an appropriate economic development strategy for Native communities, available research and interviews confirm that tribal leaders and Native economic development officials see individual entrepreneurship as compatible with Native culture (past and present) and as a vehicle for tribal economic sovereignty. Underlying this general agreement however is the acknowledgement that Native entrepreneurship development strategies will not succeed without taking into account the differences between Native and non-Native cultures.

Building on effective practices currently underway. The numbers of creative public-private partnerships and Native not-for-profit organizations have increased over the last decade to address the barriers facing Native entrepreneurs and to facilitate community entrepreneurship development strategies. While these are still in their early stages of development and generally not linked to mainstream initiatives, an increasing number of institutions and programs are working to enhance supports for Native entrepreneurs through policy development, education, training and technical assistance, financing, and networking initiatives. These efforts, some of which are documented in this report, can serve as models and resources for tribes and Native organizations nationwide interested in implementing entrepreneurship development strategies in their local communities.

Providing entrepreneur-focused services that are comprehensive and coordinated. This report identifies a set of principles for ensuring that a community has the right climate or culture in which Native entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship can flourish including culturally relevant, entrepreneur-focused, community driven strategies. An effective entrepreneurship development system coordinates a plethora of programs and tailors products to the diverse needs of entrepreneurs, incorporating all of the elements of support for a comprehensive strategy including youth entrepreneurship education, effective training and technical assistance, ready access to appropriate capital, entrepreneur networks, and a supportive policy and cultural environment. Anchor institutions, a supportive public policy, and an information infrastructure are also all essential components of a comprehensive system

Source: Native Entrepreneurship Report, by Northwest Area Foundation

Snapshot of Omaha, NE

2007-04-12T16:59:00.000-05:00

Omaha is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is the county seat of Douglas County. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 390,007. According to the 2005 census estimate, Omaha's population rose to 424,988 after annexing the smaller City of Elkhorn.

Located on the eastern edge of Nebraska, it is on the Missouri River, about 20 miles (30 km) north of the mouth of the Platte River. Omaha is the anchor of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. Council Bluffs, Iowa lies directly across the Missouri River from Omaha. The city and its suburbs formed the 60th-largest metropolitan area in the United States in 2000, with a population of 819,246 (2006) residing in eight counties or about 1.2 million within a 50-mile (80 km) radius.

Omaha has a rich cultural and historical legacy. Cultural highlights include the Joslyn Art Museum, the Durham Western Heritage Museum, the Holland Performing Arts Center, and the Omaha Community Playhouse. It was home to the 1898 Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition, and was the location of the winter quarters for settlers on the Mormon Trail. It has also been the location of important events in the Civil Rights Movement. It is also a business center listed as a top 10 high tech haven by Newsweek in 2001. Although crime in Omaha is comparable to other U.S. cities of similar size, racial tension and the scourge of methamphetamines are social issues.

Learn more here.

History of West Lafayette, IN

2007-04-11T01:49:00.000-05:00

"In the wilderness days, West Lafayette as it is known today was an entire wilderness. Its tangled forests and undisturbed prairies were the haunts of wild beasts and the homes of wandering Indians. Only here and there were to be seen traces of civilization with its many hardships and privations incident of frontier life. Still the same beautiful Wabash River founds its way undisturbed." - Charles T. Stallard, "Brief History of West Lafayette"

The first group of pioneers settled in the West Lafayette area soon after the town of Lafayette was founded in the late 1820's. Called "Jacktown," this settlement was located at the top of a rather steep hill above the Wabash River at North Chauncey and State streets. In 1836, the first town of West Lafayette was laid out by August Wylie on the banks of the Wabash River, opposite the gravel bar south of the present railroad bridge and near the present West Lafayette Wastewater Treatment Plant. The gravel bar was used to cross the river during low water. The town consisted of 140 building lots. But it never succeeded due to the realization that it was situated on the flood plain of the Wabash River.

Next, the town of Kingston was platted up the hill on April 3, 1855. The area consisted of four squares and included the area now bounded by Northwestern Avenue, Salisbury Street, North Street and South Street. A large lot at the northeast corner of the town at North and Salisbury streets was marked off for a school lot. The present site of Morton Community Center - formerly Morton School - was designated as a school site. The land was owned by Jesse B. Lutz and his wife, Jane.

The Chauncey family, wealthy land speculators from Philadelphia, purchased neighboring land and on January 16, 1860, the town of Chauncey was platted. The town of Chauncey included the land south of State Street and east of Grant Street to the river, and the land north of State Street and east of Salisbury Street to the river. It included North River Road to the current Water Company Pumphouse and Robinson Street, then a plank road. By 1864, the area included about two dozen homes and five main roads. Everything south of State Street and east of Salisbury Street consisted of forest land.

In January of 1866, a group of interested citizens of Kingston, Chauncey and other surrounding communities met at the Kingston School to organize, incorporate and name the town. They eventually decided to call their town Chauncey in honor of the Chauncey family. The town received its charter in the fall of 1867. On May 21, 1888, the town of Chauncey voted to change its name to West Lafayette after a petition signed by 152 electors, and this change became official on May 28, 1888. The name change was requested because the town of Chauncey did not have a post office, and mail addressed to Chauncey would not be delivered.

As an incorporated town, West Lafayette was then able to establish its own government and school system. Very few of the original buildings remain, and those that do no longer appear in their original condition.

Source: City of West Lafayette, IN

Top Retirement Communities

2007-04-10T17:02:00.000-05:00

Bizjournals compared 938 markets in eight statistical categories looking for places where the number of senior citizens is substantial and increasing rapidly.

Behind Gardnerville Ranchos on the list of America's hottest retirement areas are Punta Gorda, Fla.; Pahrump, Nev.; Crossville, Tenn.; and Homosassa Springs, Fla. Each of these top-five markets is reasonably small, with a total population between 40,000 and 160,000. (Click here for a list of the 100 hottest retirement destinations).

Gardnerville Ranchos ranks first because of its striking performances on several indicators: Nineteen percent of its residents are 65 or older. That's a higher concentration than 900 of the nation's other 937 markets have. Its senior population soared by 45 percent between 2000 and 2005. That's nine times the national growth rate of five percent for the same age group. Its number of seniors increased 46 percent faster in five years than its number of children did. That's the largest imbalance anywhere in America.

Bizjournals also pinpointed the most popular communities in 10 groups that reflect the varying interests of retirees. These categories focus on markets of similar size, geography or topography. A broad range of areas offers the quality of life that attracts today's retirees, as the findings makes clear. (Click here to view the top choices in each category.)

Hordes of Eastern and Midwestern retirees are still drawn to Florida and the Southwest, the traditional warm-weather havens. But other locations have been growing in popularity, including the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and the Great Lakes region.

Some retirees are more interested in a specific type of community -- by the beach, in a big city or in a small town, for example -- than in its geographical location. Urban markets: Sarasota-Bradenton tops this list, which is restricted to metropolitan areas with at least half a million people.

Small towns: The Gardnerville Ranchos micropolitan area, with 47,000 residents, is first here, followed by another Nevada town, Pahrump. This category is limited to places with fewer than 50,000 people.

Florida: Punta Gorda tops this grouping, the only one that's confined to a single state. Homosassa Springs and Sebring are the runners-up.

Rest of the Deep South: Del Rio, Texas, is the hottest option for retirees who want a warm-weather alternative to Florida. Markets in South Carolina and Georgia also score well. Atlantic Coast (Maine to North Carolina): This category encompasses a wide range of climates. Ocean Pines, Md., with its popular beaches, ranks No. 1. But colder places in Massachusetts and Maine also make the top 10.

Great Lakes: Michigan has emerged as a popular retirement option in the past 25 years, a trend reflected in these standings. Three Michigan areas top the list, with Alpena in first place.

Pacific Coast: Don't look for California here. It doesn't have a single entry in the top 10. The leader is Brookings, Ore., followed by Port Angeles, Wash.

Mountains: Both halves of America are represented in this topographical category. No. 1 Gardnerville Ranchos is far west of the Mississippi River, while No. 2 Crossville, Tenn., is well to the east.

Southwest: Pahrump, Nev., is the winner in this group, which takes in the deserts and tablelands of six states. Silver City, N.M., and Lake Havasu City, Ariz., round out the top three.

Great Plains: Flatlanders find Albert Lea, Minn., most appealing. It's one of five Minnesota communities among this category's 10 leaders. Iowa and South Dakota have two entries each.

Source: BizJournals

Profile: Rye, New York

2007-04-09T23:16:00.000-05:00

First Settlement

Rye is the oldest permanent settlement in Westchester County. It began in 1660 when Peter Disbrow, John Coe and Thomas Studwell came from Greenwich with a small group of settlers. They were joined by John Budd the following year. Their first treaty with the Mohegan Indians gave them the land between Milton Point and the Byram River (Peningoe Neck); then the mile-long “Manussing” Island. Within several years their combined purchases comprised all of what is now the City of Rye, Town of Rye, Harrison, White Plains, parts of Greenwich, North Castle, and Mamaroneck.

Settlement Named Rye

In 1665, Connecticut merged these settlements under the name of Rye after ancestors in Rye, England. In 1683, Rye was ceded unwillingly to the Province of New York by King Charles II as a gift to his brother, the Duke of York. But when a New York court severed the Harrison area from the settlement in 1695, the Rye colonists rejoined Connecticut in protest. In 1700, Rye again became part of New York by royal decree, this time permanently. The New York State Legislature officially established the Town of Rye boundaries in 1788.

Early Business and Recreation

For two centuries, Rye remained a secluded community. Land was cleared for farming and cattle grazing. Docks were built on Long Island Sound, and oystering was an important occupation. Homes along Mill Town Road, now Milton, led to grist mills on Blind Brook.

Communication with the outside world came slowly. The Rye-Oyster Bay ferry, which began service in 1739, was a great community event. The New York-Boston stagecoach made its first run in 1772 using the Square House, then an Inn, as a stopping place. Rye to New York steamboat service and completion of the New Haven Railroad in the mid 1800’s made Rye a popular summer resort. Horseracing on “The Flats” (Rye Beach) was a special attraction.

Rye Thrives at the Turn of the Century

In the late nineteenth century, Rye experienced its first real growth and change. The era of the trolley made surrounding communities accessible. (Through a series of careful transfers, one could travel all the way to New York for eight cents.) By 1904, there were two schools, five churches, a library, and a lively population of 3,500 residents.

Rye Becomes a Village

The growing community became dissatisfied with the services of the Rye Town Board, on which it had no representation. The Rye Village Incorporation League organized public meetings; “letters to the editor” debated the merits of independence. The Legislature passed a bill of incorporation and on September 12, 1904, a special election was held at Theodore Fremd’s market. The taxpayers voted 155 in favor, 47 opposed - and Rye became a village.

The Post-War Boom

During the 1920’s, the post-war boom and the advent of parkways and commuter trains brought a rush of prospective suburbanites and summer residents to the flourishing village. This was Rye’s greatest period of growth and by 1930, there were nearly 9,000 people.

Rye Becomes a City

As Rye developed, the residents began to desire complete independence from the Town government. City status offered many advantages, one being relief from paying a disproportionate share of the Town welfare tax. In 1940, the Legislature approved the Rye City Charter which was adopted by the residents 1,172 to 34. On January 1, 1942, Rye became Westchester’s sixth and smallest city.

Rye History in the Making

Today, the City of Rye is a unique blending of the old and the new. Now a residential, suburban community with every facility for modern living, it still retains its traditional atmosphere of tranquil village life as well as many historic landmarks that bind it to its three-hundred year history.

Still small as cities go (1990 census population: 14,936), Rye is primarily a place in which to live rather than to make a living. One-third of Rye’s working residents commute to New York City, 25 railroad miles away. Others are employed in Westchester, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Long Island as well as in the 200 small businesses and several large firms located here.

Community Characteristics

The dominant characteristic of the community is one of single-family homes that cover about three-fifths of Rye’s six square miles. Another fifth of the land is devoted to recreation and conservation. The balance is divided between institutions (such as The Osborn, churches, and city property) and vacant land, with a slim 5% of all property in Rye used for business and industry.

Careful planning and controlled growth have protected the overriding community objective - to retain its residential character. Of the 5,400 households, two-thirds live in private homes; the rest are housed in condominium, cooperative, two-family or apartment buildings - a balance which has been purposely maintained.

Natural Endowments

Rye’s remarkable natural endowments - a protected harbor along Long Island Sound, varied rolling landscapes, tree-lined streets, and winding brooks - enhance its many attractive neighborhoods. Community interest in recreation and preservation of open spaces has been considerable. The purchase of a 127-acre private country club, doubling of capacity at the marina on Milton Harbor, and expansion of the Nature Center to 47 acres all reflect the wishes of the citizens.

Present-Day Business

Campus-type office buildings for corporations in a few selected areas have been of economic benefit to the community. The central business district, primarily intended to serve local residents, has been confined to the Purchase Street area.

Zoning regulations that control density, height, and use of property have successfully kept tower apartments, motels, shopping centers and manufacturing plants out of Rye. Ample lands have been set aside for schools as well as for shopper and commuter parking.

Source: City of Rye Website

Conscious Communities Create Economic Value

2007-04-08T05:16:00.000-05:00

For some time, I have believed that the model of community economic development must shift to one that speaks more directly to the issue of value creation relative to local and state economies. Performance metrics have become more important to nearly all ED organizations. ED managers and executives, and board leaders to a degree, are giving greater attention to using performance measurement and monitoring as tools to improve organizational results and area economic outcomes.

Jobs are great. High-paying jobs are even better. Wealth creation is vital. Broad-based prosperity-building has become more important. Tech transfer is important. Technology commercialization is more important. All of you know how this conversation about intended outcomes of the economic development is unfolding.

I propose that one of the future jobs of economic development leaders should be local economic value creation. I think the issue is value creation, and approaching the discussion in these terms will help leaders understand their role in the value creation process.

To bring this issue into sharper focus, please click here to download a presentation I gave to the Connecticut Legislature on this topic five years ago. I would welcome your thoughts on this issue. It is vitally important to the future of economic development.

Beacon Hill Institute Metro Competitiveness Rankings

2007-04-07T06:21:00.000-05:00

The Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University prepares an annual report on state and metro area competitiveness. The Table to the left identifies the metro area rankings for its most recent 2005 report.

<--To enlarge the graphic to the left, click on it.

To learn more about the the index, its ranking criteria, and other information, click on this link. Download the metro/state competitiveness report here.

The Beacon Hill Institute has adopted the following mission and vision statements.

Statement of Mission

Grounded in the principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility and free markets, the Beacon Hill Institute engages in rigorous economic research and conducts educational programs for the purpose of producing and disseminating readable analyses of current public policy issues to voters, taxpayers, opinion leaders and policy makers.

Statement of Vision

The Beacon Hill Institute is a world-renowned learning and research center that develops and performs innovative economic and statistical analyses of current and emerging public policy issues. It aims to strengthen that function by: providing local, state, national and international research entities with state-of-the-art tools and economic analyses, partnering with a PhD granting department of economics, and expanding its reputation for providing objective analysis to examine and influence public policy.

The Three Qualities of "Conscious Leadership"

2007-04-05T06:30:00.000-05:00

Conscious communities need 'conscious' leadership. What is conscious leadership? According to Farr Associates, a executive and organization development firm based in High Point, NC, conscious leaders possess three key qualities:

Quality 1: You must have the skill to gain insight into the follower's mind, concerning his situation, and how they perceive you. In particular, you must know what they perceive as negative. Since sensible followers are reluctant to say negative things to anyone who has power over their work lives, mapping out negative perceptions takes a good deal of leader skill. A leader can break down any reluctance to give feedback by supporting the efforts of followers to work in a way that satisfies both themselves and their company. A good leader knows and consistently uses some of the many techniques for learning follower's needs and assessing how they experience their environment. Leaders need to create and manage a system of feedback loops that keep them in permanent touch with follower mindset, so they lead professionally with maximum impact.

Quality 2: To be a powerful leader, you must present your "leaderself" to others, rather than your "naturalself." Good leaders do not always do what comes as a natural expression of their personalities. Instead, they come from a leaderself that is designed and created to do exactly the leadership behavior called for by the situation. They fit the leader role rather than make the role fit them. It is amazing how often poor leadership occurs because leaders do what comes naturally from their personalities rather than what is needed to be effective.

Quality 3: To create an effective “leaderself”, you must operate from self-awareness rather than from an automatic mind. For many leaders, this is unbelievably difficult, because they are unaware of much of what they do and of the perceptions they create in others. They act on automatic pilot, focusing attention on what they want as an end outcome in the business, with little or no thought on how they want the follower to feel, see and change their behavior. They lead with too much focus on what they want done, rather than from an awareness of followers' mindset. Often, the personality traits that make for effective managers can make them terrible leaders, especially once their role expands beyond leadership, based on their personal charisma and implementation skills.

Douglas County, Nevada: Smart Growth Debates Continue

2007-04-04T08:33:00.000-05:00

Creation of the hotly debated growth cap in Douglas County, Nevada has development and environment interest groups locking horns. The County includes Lake Tahoe and a portion of the Sierra Nevada range.

Two, 2.5 percent, 3 percent and 3.5 percent caps on residential building permits, in addition to a flat rate of 280 permits a year as approved by Douglas County voters in 2002 are being considered. Voters approved the Sustainable Growth Initiative, which limits the number of housing permits issued in Douglas County to 280 a year, in 2002. A series of court rulings and legal wrangling followed.

A report by Meridian Business Advisors advocates a flexible cap to "protect the economic viability and quality of life Douglas County now enjoys." The Meridian report, which states that growth pays for itself and is necessary for the generation of adequate tax revenues, was funded by the Coalition for Smart Growth.

The 280-permit cap, which represents a growth rate of about 2 percent, would require up to $124 million worth of new taxes or service cuts.

A growth cap limiting the number of new homes to 2.5 percent annually would reduce that need by up to $33 million and a 3.5 percent growth cap would reduced that need by $55 million, according to the Meridian report.

Development interests recently came forward with their arguments why development rules should be loosened in the County. Read what they have to say here.

Could a Community Happiness Index be Possible in the Future?

2007-04-03T03:38:00.000-05:00

How many of you recall a parent telling you when you were a child that the most important thing in life is to be happy? I certainly do, and my parents were right. Happiness has been treated by most of us as strictly a subjective experience or state of mind. Now, researchers are trying to understand happiness in a more analytical way.

A University of Leicester psychologist has produced the first ever 'world map of happiness.' Adrian White, an analytic social psychologist at the University's School of Psychology, analyzed data published by UNESCO, the CIA, the New Economics Foundation, the WHO, the Veenhoven Database, the Latinbarometer, the Afrobarometer, and the UNHDR, to create a global projection of subjective well-being: the first world map of happiness. Tibet was actually the first country to use a Gross National Happiness Index as a substitute for a Gross National Product Index. (His Holiness The Dalai Lama pictured above)

White's research looks at happiness at the national level. Would it be possible to create an communtiy index of happiness?

The projection, which is to be published in a psychology journal this September, will be presented at a conference later in the year. Participants in the various studies were asked questions related to happiness and satisfaction with life. The meta-analysis is based on the findings of over 100 different studies around the world, which questioned 80,000 people worldwide. For this study data has also been analysed in relation to health, wealth and access to education.

Whilst collecting data on subjective well-being is not an exact science, the measures used are very reliable in predicting health and welfare outcomes. It can be argued that whilst these measures are not perfect they are the best we have so far, and these are the measures that politicians are talking of using to measure the relative performance of each country.

The researchers have argued that regular testing as a collaboration between academics in different countries would enable us to track changes in happiness, and what events may cause that. For example what effect would a war, or famine, or national success have on a country's members' happiness. .

Adrian White said: "The concept of happiness, or satisfaction with life, is currently a major area of research in economics and psychology, most closely associated with new developments in positive psychology. It has also become a feature in the current political discourse in the UK. "

There is increasing political interest in using measures of happiness as a national indicator in conjunction with measures of wealth. A recent BBC survey found that 81% of the population think the Government should focus on making us happier rather than wealthier.

"Further analysis showed that a nation's level of happiness was most closely associated with health levels (correlation of .62), followed by wealth (.52), and then provision of education (.51). In short, this says that health, wealth and education are the three leading drivers of happiness. Interesting!

"The three predictor variables of health, wealth and education were also very closely associated with each other, illustrating the interdependence of these factors.

"There is a belief that capitalism leads to unhappy people. However, when people are asked if they are happy with their lives, people in countries with good healthcare, a higher GDP per capita, and access to education were much more likely to report being happy.

"We were surprised to see countries in Asia scoring so low, with China 82nd, Japan 90th and India 125th. These are countries that are thought as having a strong sense of collective identity which other researchers have associated with well-being.

"It is also notable that many of the largest countries in terms of population do quite badly. With China 82nd, India 125th and Russia 167th it is interesting to note that larger populations are not associated with happy countries."

"The frustrations of modern life, and the anxieties of the age, seem to be much less significant compared to the health, financial and educational needs in other parts of the World. The current concern with happiness levels in the UK may well be a case of the 'worried well'."

The 20 happiest nations in the World are:

1. Denmark

2. Switzerland

3. Austria

4. Iceland

5. The Bahamas

6. Finland

7. Sweden

8. Bhutan

9. Brunei

10. Canada

11. Ireland

12. Luxembourg

13. Costa Rica

14. Malta

15. The Netherlands

16. Antigua and Barbuda

17. Malaysia

18. New Zealand

19. Norway

20. The Seychelles

Other notable results include:

23. USA

35. Germany

41. UK

62. France

82. China

90. Japan

125. India

167. Russia

The three least happy countries were:

176. Democratic Republic of the Congo

177. Zimbabwe

178. Burundi Source: Science Daily

Jan Gehl: It's About More Than Buildings

2007-04-02T03:44:00.000-05:00

He calls it recognizing his spaces between spaces. While most consider the building as the most important element of architecture, Jan Gehl's works are appreciated by millions for emphasising what isn't there.

Jan Gehl (Pictured to the left) is a Danish architect and urban design consultant based in Copenhagen and whose career has focused on improving the quality of pedestrian urban life.

Whether or not you have heard of Jan Gehl before, you are probably familiar with his work. If you have walked down Copenhagen's Strøget, the longest pedestrian shopping centre in the world, then you know what he is capable of. Gehl, 71, has been responsible for the gradual pedestrianisation of large areas of Copenhagen, converting it from the car-focussed city that it was in the 1970s and 1980s, to the walker-friendly place it is today.

Gehl was recently been awarded the honour of becoming a 'Lifetime Fellow' of the Royal Institute of British Architects for a career dedicated to creating 'welcoming environments that are well used year-round'. The title shows RIBA's recognition of Gehl's considerable worldwide influence in the field of architecture and urban design.

His work over the last forty years has largely been focussed on the kind of small changes in our public spaces that are too subtle to grab the headlines, but nevertheless make a long and lasting change to the life of the city. It is in large part for the resounding success of his work here in Copenhagen that Gehl has been honoured with the title of RIBA Lifetime Fellow.
Psycho-social constructions

After qualifying as an architect at the Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Gehl married a psychologist in the 1960s, with whom he had 'many discussions about why the human side of architecture was not more carefully looked at'. He and his wife resolved to 'study the borderland between sociology, architecture and planning'. Gehl rooted many of the social problems of contemporary cities not so much in the building stock itself, but in a systematic neglect of the spaces in between the buildings.

In 1971 he wrote his influential 'Life Between Buildings' (first published in English in 1987) and started to carry out a style of urban design that involved a process of measuring, making incremental improvements and then measuring again. Banal though that might sound, the process has been the basis for a significant transformation in Copenhagen over recent years, and increased a global awareness of the importance of accessible and inviting public space in our daily lives.

Invisible improvements

For Gehl, architecture is 'the mirror of the surrounding society'. His interest in revitalising public space has taken him across the world as researcher, author, urban designer and lecturing professor. Gehl's book 'New City Spaces', published in 2000, is a best-seller in urban planning circles and brings together examples of the recent upsurge of interest in public space and life. Included are examples of projects from international cities such as Barcelona, Lyon, Melbourne and Curitiba.

He has carried out important projects in the UK and was commissioned by Transport for London to report on the sort of barriers and obstacles that pedestrians encounter everyday there. In the resulting report presented by the Mayor of London, Gehl fought hard for returning 'dignity and style' to what he described as an 'invaded city' where 'car is king'.

As well as teaching at Copenhagen's architecture school, the Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Gehl has been a visiting professor at universities in Germany, Belgium, Poland, Norway, Canada, Mexico, Australia and the United States. There is a new generation of architects and urban planners emerging with a humanistic and pragmatic approach towards public space. For them, Gehl's words are their buzzwords.

Jan Gehl can be thanked for real changes in the public spaces of cities such as Copenhagen that are almost invisible because they have been so well-judged and successfully taken up. This subtle but influential achievement is something that RIBA could not overlook in choosing him as Lifetime Fellow.

Source: The Copenhagen Post, March 6, 2007

Santa Fe Named No. 2 Best Place for Artists

2007-04-01T06:47:00.000-05:00

Santa Fe was named the second best place in the United States for artists and creatives by Sperling's Best Places and Businessweek.com on March 15, 2007.

The list of the Top 10 best places was compiled by identifying metro areas that have the highest concentrations of artistic business establishments. In conducting their nationwide analysis, this online data source and news publication also considered the percentage of people between the ages of 25 to 34, population diversity and the concentration of museums, orchestras, dance companies, theater troupes, library resources and college arts programs.

“Santa Fe is rich in talent, cultural offerings, and educational opportunities in the arts and creative industries. Our artistic output includes notable contemporary as well as traditional expressions of Native American and Hispanic heritage,” said Jackie M., Chairman of Creative Santa Fe. “The large number of creative individuals, artistic business establishments, and over 12,500 jobs within the creative industries demonstrates that this community is a hub, offering social support and financial opportunities for talent working in these fields. Creative Santa Fe’s goal is to help our creative economy grow even stronger.”

Santa Fe's Creative Industries:

Generate $1.1 billion annually;
Support 12,567 jobs or 17.5% of total employment;
Paid $231.5 million in wages and salaries;
Attract 78% ($814 million) of it revenues from outside Santa Fe County; bolstering our economy with new capital;
Contribute 39% of total into our local economy annually;
Produce $22.6 million in City taxes and revenues;
Produce $13.4 million in County taxes and revenues;
nclude the largest per capita concentration of artists, performers and writers of any city in the U.S.;
Include the highest per capital of art-related businesses in the country; and
Santa Fe is the second largest art market in the U.S. in terms of dollar sales.

“The City of Santa Fe's Economic Development Strategy recognizes the importance of creative people and businesses to the community and has targeted resources to help artistic and creative businesses grow,” according to Mayor David Coss. “We want to continue to provide more affordable housing, business training and financial assistance, and workforce training for people in the creative industries.” Coss noted that this is a very exciting time in our community with the new civic center, railyard development, and expansion of the Palace of the Governors Museum all underway in addition to the opening of the new Southside Library – the first new library in Santa Fe in 27 years. The development of the Bataan Memorial Arts Complex will allow for the expansion of the Santa Fe Children’s Museum, Santa Fe Performing Arts, CCA, and the Bataan Memorial Museum. And, of course, contributing to our creative economy is Santa Fe’s distinction as the first American city to be named to the UNECO Creative Cities Network.

“This explosion of investment in Santa Fe’s Creative Industries will improve the environment for artists and allow more creative business opportunities for our community,” said Coss.

The top ten places for artists are:

Los Angeles, CA
Santa Fe, NM
Carson City, NV
New York, NY
Kingston, NY
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA
Nashville, TN
Boulder, CO
San Francisco, CA
Nassau-Suffolk Counties, NY

Creative Santa Fe, Inc. http://www.creativesantafe.org/ is a not-for-profit, grassroots organization dedicated to strengthening and promoting Santa Fe’s creative economy.

Kansas City Effort Keeps Artists in Place

2007-03-31T07:02:00.000-05:00

This story from Kansas City might interest you if your community is trying to retain artists in revitalizing areas seeing property tax increases. A pioneering program intended to prevent artists and art-related businesses in the Crossroads Arts District from being forced out by rising property values is nearing enactment. The plan, believed to be one of the more innovative in the nation, would freeze property taxes on eligible Crossroads properties for 10 years.

The proposed program has been in the works for several years and would be administered by the Planned Industrial Expansion Authority, a state-chartered local development agency. It is intended to help preserve the flavor of the Crossroads, one of the city's more eclectic and dynamic districts. The area, which sprawls between the central business district and Crown Center, has dozens of art galleries and artist studios and is a popular destination on First Fridays.

But the success of the Crossroads has become a threat to artists. Twenty years ago, when the neighborhood was relatively desolate, they could purchase buildings cheaply, pay low taxes and create art. Now developers, attracted to its improved atmosphere, are renovating buildings into condominiums, offices and retail. As a result, property values -- and taxes -- are shooting up.

Artist Jim Leedy reported three years ago his tax bill had jumped from $12,000 to $40,000 because of the rapidly rising property values. "This is important for cultural reasons and for the health of the whole community," Leedy said. "Developers are part of it, but we don't want them to forget that arts and crafts are part of this too."

Under the program, property owners must demonstrate to the PIEA board that at least 51 percent of the building is being used for art-related purposes. The owners also must agree to repair any blighted conditions associated with their property. The building would have its property tax frozen for 10 years. Should the use change, the tax abatement would end. The program also has penalties should the owner cheat.

An earlier version of the proposal that had been endorsed in January by the City Plan Commission called for the properties to receive a standard Chapter 353 tax abatement, 100 percent for 10 years followed by 50 percent for 15 years. That plan was amended, however, to the 10-year, 100 percent abatement. After 10 years, the council is expected to review the Crossroads Arts PIEA plan to determine whether it should be renewed, but the council also can terminate the program at anytime. The 10-year abatement on individual properties cannot be extended without permission of the council. Source: Kansas City Star, March 29, 2007

Hot Water: A Source of Competitive Advantage in Hot Springs

2007-03-30T06:34:00.000-05:00

Hot Springs, Arkansas is an interesting place with an interesting history. Its highlight is Hot Springs National Park, but it can also claim two lakes and a wealth of beauty.

President Andrew Jackson declared Hot Springs the first National Reservation when he traveled here in 1832. It is now one of the country’s oldest and most visited national parks (it was declared a national park in 1921). Today, Hot Springs it the only American city located inside a national park.

Hot Spring was “discovered” by the Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto in 1541, but for thousands of years before Native Americans had enjoyed the rejuvenating natural warm waters.

There are 47 hot springs that flow at about a million gallons a day and at temperatures that average 140 degrees. The waters flow through many layers of rock and arrive at Hot Springs with almost 100 percent purity. This pure, warm water bathes visitors in comfort and warmth and so for hundreds of years now, people have traveled to Hot Springs to relax, rejuvenate, and heal. For many, it’s a spiritual experience, while others come to Hot Springs to enjoy the springs but also the recreation here which includes camping, hiking, and scenic drives.

Monumental bathhouses built along Bathhouse Row about that time catered to crowds of health seekers. These new establishments, full of the latest equipment, pampered the bather in artful surroundings. Marble and tile decorated floors, walls and partitions. Some rooms sported polished brass, murals, fountains, statues and even stained glass. Gymnasiums, and beauty shops helped cure seekers in their efforts to look and feel better.

Shortly after World War II, changes in medial technology and in the use of leisure time resulted in a decline in water therapies. People also began to prefer taking the open road in their own cars rather than traveling by train. One by one, the bathhouses began to close down as business began to decline.

Today Hot Springs is a popular tourist destination and is working at diversification of its economic base.

Approaching a Definition of "Conscious" Communities

2007-03-29T06:36:00.000-05:00

Steve Woodall of Cherokee Nation asked me what I meant by "conscious" communities. His question was timely and made me think. Here is what I said to Steve:

I am working in the direction of a definition of conscious communities. I am hoping to find a way to “measure” the consciousness of communities. I’m trying to get at what the tag line says: Creating Places of Heightened Awareness and Expression. Right now, I would say conscious communities are communities that:

Cultivate the consciousness of their citizens and encourage heightened awareness and expression by their citizens.
Exhibit a sense of meaning and purpose that permeates the community in various ways.
Are reflective of the values and culture of their citizens.
Are responsive to the fundamental human needs of their citizens.
Are environmentally sound or sustainable.
Foster and support the financial and economic prosperity of their citizens.
Are civically engaged and aware.
Encourage and foster sound democratic and effective community leadership/stewardship.
Are accountable to their citizens.
Plan ahead and make investments in community building
Encourage and support the learning and education of their citizens.
Encourage and support the spiritual growth of their citizens.
Encourage and support the physical health of their citizens.
Encourage and support the happiness and psychological well-being of their citizens.
Encourage and support the growth of creativity in their citizens.
Encourage the building of social networks and relationships supporting their citizens.

To my new readers, I would ask: What does "conscious" community mean to you?

Conscious Community: Tahlequah, Oklahoma

2007-03-28T06:07:00.000-05:00

Legend has it, the name Tahlequah was chosen for the new homeland of the Cherokee Tribe upon their arrival from Georgia on the "Trail of Tears." Three chiefs were to meet and select its name, but when only two chiefs showed up for the meeting, they said "Tahlequah" which in the Cherokee language means "Two is enough."

Tahlequah has often been referred to as one of the most historically significant cities west of the Mississippi, and is located just 12 miles north of Tenkiller Lake on Highway 82. Rich in Native American history, Tahlequah is the home of the Cherokee Nation.

Three miles south of town is "Hunter’s Home" or the George M. Murrell homesite. The Murrell home is the only remaining antebellum home in Oklahoma.

Tahlequah has been voted one of the Best Small Towns in America. If you visit Tahlequah you will see why. It is a beautiful small town surrounded by beautiful rolling hills, meadows, and serene lakes and rivers.

Tahlequah is located in the "Lakes Country" of Northeastern Oklahoma in Cherokee County, with a population of 14,458 according to the 2000 census. The City of Tahlequah is the oldest municipality in Oklahoma by virtue of an incorporation act by the Cherokee National Council of 1843, more than half a century before Oklahoma gained statehood.

Tahlequah is unique in its location, centered in the midst of the Illinois River Valley, with Lake Tenkiller and Lake Fort Gibson close by to provide unlimited recreation and beautiful scenery for the enjoyment of our citizens as well as the many tourists and travelers who pass our way.

Northeastern State University and the headquarters of the Cherokee Nation are also located here and are great assets to our area, providing many job opportunities.

The Cherokee Nation is the second largest Indian tribe in the United States. There are more than 200,000 tribal members. Almost 70,000 of these Cherokees reside in the 7,000 square mile area of the Cherokee Nation which is not a reservation, but a jurisdictional service area that includes all of eight counties and portions of six in northeastern Oklahoma.

Today, the Cherokee Nation is a leader in education, housing, vocational training, business and economic development. I have had the unique opportunity to work with the tribe on several economic development projects.

As a federally-recognized Indian tribe, the Cherokee Nation has both the opportunity and the sovereign right to exercise control and development over tribal assets, which includes 66,000 acres of land, as well as 96 miles of the Arkansas Riverbed.

Note on Images Inluded: These are photos that evoke a "feeling" about Tahlequah's "consciousness." That is why they have been included. #1: Old Ford in field near Tahlequah; #2: Old Baptist Church sign; #3: Northeastern Oklahoma State University campus; and #4: Cherokee Chief Chad Smith and family.

This Is Smart Growth Publication

2007-03-27T05:44:00.000-05:00

More communities are working to grow in a smart manner; that is to grow in a high quality and balanced way. It is possible to do this.

A new publication by Smart Growth Network (SGN) and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), This is Smart Growth, is a layman-friendly survey of how a number communities and developers have worked together to create innovative projects that accommodate growth while preserving what's best about a place. With copious photos and illustrations, the guide demonstrates how principles of smart growth have been put into play in this creative time of rethinking how development is done.

This Is Smart Growth describes how, when done well, development can help create more economic opportunities, build great places where people want to live and visit, preserve the qualities people love about their communities, and protect environmental resources. Many people want to know what smart growth looks like; This Is Smart Growth illustrates and explains smart growth concepts and outcomes.

The publication features 40 places around the country, from cities to suburbs to small towns to rural communities, where good development has improved residents' quality of life. Photos illustrate how these communities have invested taxpayer money wisely, offered people more choices in housing and transportation, protected natural and working lands, promoted healthy environments, created a lasting legacy for the community, and achieved other accomplishments.

Download This is Smart Growth (8.5'' x 11'' version) (32 pages/2.5mb)

Download This is Smart Growth (8.5'' x 14'' version -- note legal size paper) (32 pages/5.2mb)

Bend, Oregon: A Conscious Place

2007-03-26T06:16:00.000-05:00

Michigan Suburbs Struggling Financially

2007-03-25T05:33:00.000-05:00

The world of local government finance has seen better days, to say the least. I find communities across the country are struggling to make ends meet. We have been working in Southfield, MI and have some insight into a recent news story describing what a large number of Michigan suburban communities are wrestling with. Call it the "first suburb effect," if you like. It's not good.

A greater, and hopefully new financial consciousness needs to emerge in local government. This new consciousness must go beyond just cutting services and reducing spending. Local governments must continue innovating on new ways to finance their responsibilities and new ways of working with their neighbors and state government. Regionalism is a reality that more suburban communities must come to accept. Look for more on this issue in the near future.

If you are a Michigan suburb, here is a taste of what you are up against:

• Voter-approved Proposal A, which limits increases in a property's taxable value to the inflation rate or less until a property is sold. Only then does it increase to the market value.

• The voter-approved Headlee Amendment, which limits revenue growth in local governments to the inflation rate unless there is new development in a community.

• Since 2001, the state has cut more than $400 million annually from the sales tax revenue it shares with local governments, a funding source that provides as much as one-quarter of all revenue in some communities.

• State law requires binding arbitration in police and firefighters' salary disputes, saddling some communities with costs they say they cannot afford.

• Some city charters require minimum staffing of police and firefighters, squeezing the rest of the budget.

• Retiree health-care costs have been rising by 10% or more annually and exceed what many communities pay to insure active workers

Some communities have raised taxes, but that can require complicated city charter amendments. More than half of Michigan's cities levy the maximum tax allowed under their charters, the Michigan Municipal League says.

"The current funding model for local government is unsustainable," said Paul Tait, executive director of the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG).

Many communities have been tapping rainy day funds to cover deficits, but that can't last forever. Auditors recommend 10% to 20% of the annual budget be kept in savings to manage cash flow and cover unexpected expenses such as legal judgments.

Historic Images of Cobalt, Ontario

2007-03-24T03:44:00.000-05:00

For thousands of years the vast mineral wealth of Northern Ontario lay underground undiscovered.

Mother Nature gave up some of those riches with the discovery of silver in Cobalt by two railway tie contractors - James McKinley and Ernest Darragh. They followed their dreams of gold all the way to the California gold fields only to come back empty-handed. Their luck was about to change.

In August of 1903, while under contract during the construction of the newly formed Temiskaming & Northern Ontario (T. & N.O.) Railway at Long Lake, they found the "glittering rocks" of men's dreams.

"They had learned to test nuggets by biting them with their teeth. When they tested the 'glittering rocks' they knew they had found native silver." - Yankee Takeover of Cobalt, John Murphy

The Silver Rush was on! Prospectors, miners, speculators, and financiers came from all over the world to search for silver, stake claims, form mining companies, and extract riches of silver at unprecedented levels to create a boom town like no other: Cobalt - "the best old town I know."
"As a source of silver riches, the Cobalt area led the world in yielding a phenomenal 460 million ounces. That is about US$2 billion worth of silver at today's prices. In Cobalt's peak year, 1911, 34 mines produced some 30 million ounces."- Canadian Mining Hall of Fame

Remarkably, the silver fortunes extracted far exceeded those made from Klondike gold. Cobalt silver helped drive the economy of Ontario - just out of a deep 1890's North American economic depression. It helped increase the wealth of Canadian Banks and attracted the financing for mining exploration and development. It produced a large number of Canadian millionaires and allowed for great investment in the Toronto Stock Exchange. Some would say, "Cobalt built Bay Street."

Cobalt silver funded the expansion of the T. & N. O. Railway that opened up Northern Ontario. It led to a new awareness of the rich natural resources of Canada. Cobalt mines were on the leading edge of mining technology. Great innovations in silver ore extraction took place. Power was generated for the entire mining site by compressed air systems at Ragged Chutes. The Haileybury School of Mines was established to train generations of mining engineers whose alumni would go on to develop mines all over Canada and throughout the world.

However, by the 1980's, most of the region's silver had been rendered from the earth and mining activity slowed. Cobalt's population dwindled to a fraction of its former self. The mines of former glory closed and lay dormant, and began to rust back into nature. It goes without saying that the people of Cobalt have tremendous pride in their town "the cradle of Canadian mining."

Branding: Learning from Louisville, KY

2007-03-23T08:08:00.000-05:00

There have been many campaigns to promote Louisville over the years, but this is the first effort to consider the Louisville brand in its entirety and embark on location branding.

Location branding isn't a new concept: cities, states, regions, and countries around the globe are embracing branding strategies to achieve competitive advantages and to increase tourism, to recruit and retain talent, and to attract new businesses. Louisville wants to reveal what it is that makes its region attractive and special, and then communicate it to the rest of the world.
Community Branding: The Nuts and Bolts
What's Branding?

A brand is the relationship between the user and the product or service, or in the case of location branding, the place.
A brand describes the emotions and experiences users have when they interact with a place.
A brand defines the central, timeless essence or soul of this place and its intangible, emotional core.
A brand exists in the mind of the user and connects the user's own personal identity with that experience.
A brand consists of a powerful set of promises that deliver a relevant and distinctive experience, promising the same feelings and experiences every time the product or service is used, or the place is experienced.
A brand is not a slogan or a logo or an ad campaign. These are the marketing elements that help convey the brand, but are not the brand itself.
A brand must be relevant, differentiated from the competition, highly regarded, believable, and have emotional value.

Learn more about Louisville's branding effort.

Arizona's Maricopa Leads Counties in Population Growth Since 2000

2007-03-22T04:53:00.000-05:00

Maricopa County, Ariz., gained 696,000 residents between 2000 and 2006, the largest numerical increase of the nation’s 3,141 counties, according to estimates releasedby the U.S. Census Bureau.

This increase surpasses the total population of all but 15 U.S. cities. Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, has 3.8 million residents, making it the nation’s fourth largest county.

“The dramatic increase in Maricopa County’s population is the main reason Arizona became the nation’s fastest-growing state between 2005 and 2006,” said Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon, referring to the state population estimates released last December. “Maricopa’s growth has been remarkable, adding nearly 3 million residents since the 1970 census.”

Harris County, Texas, had the second largest numeric increase between 2000 and 2006, at 486,000, and totaled 3.9 million. Riverside, Calif. (481,000); Los Angeles (429,000); and Clark, Nev. (402,000) rounded out the top five county gainers. (See Table 1.)

Among the 20 fastest-growing counties from 2000 to 2006, 13 were in the South, four in the West and three in the Midwest.

Among the 10 counties that added the largest number of residents between 2000 and 2006, three were in Texas (Harris, Tarrant and Collin), three in California (Riverside, Los Angeles and San Bernardino), one in Georgia (Gwinnett) and one in Illinois (Will). Among the 20 counties with the largest numeric gains, 19 were in the South or West.

Counties with One Million Population or Greater

2007-03-21T05:29:00.000-05:00

(Click on image to enlargen).

Counties with Highest Percent Bachelors Degrees, 2003

2007-03-20T06:07:00.000-05:00

Educational attainment is a major factor driving the growth of high skilled and knowledge-based jobs in communities. This table shows all U.S. counties that had 40% or more of their population age 25 years and older that had a Bachelors Degree in 2003. (Click on the table to enlarge it.)

Oberlin College: Conscious College

2007-03-19T05:54:00.000-05:00

Oberlin College, founded in 1833, is an independent coeducational institution. It comprises two divisions, the College of Arts and Sciences, with about 2,200 students, and the Conservatory of Music, with about 600 enrolled. Oberlin offers bachelor of arts and bachelor of music degree programs, as well as a combined five-year program leading to both degrees. Selected master's degree programs are offered in the Conservatory, and starting in June of 2007, a Masters in Education program will also be offered.

Learn more about Oberlin from its Statement of Goals and Objectives.

The presence of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Conservatory of Music on one campus is rare and enriching. Students in the College and Conservatory share residences and dining facilities as part of a single academic community. Most Conservatory students take academic work in the College of Arts and Sciences, and each year more than one-third of the College students take applied music or courses in the Conservatory.

Oberlin's size, residential character, diversity and selectivity provide an atmosphere highly conducive to intellectual and personal growth. Its faculty of teacher-scholars has traditionally emphasized both academic achievement and individual development. Oberlin students participate in a wide variety of extracurricular activities on the campus.

Oberlin College is highly selective and dedicated to recruiting students from diverse backgrounds. Oberlin was the first truly coeducational college in the United States, as well as an early leader in educating black students.

Oberlin College is accredited by the North Central Association of College and Secondary Schools, the National Association of Schools of Music, and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.

The College is located in the city of Oberlin, with a population of 8,600.

Most Green Places

2007-03-18T07:28:00.000-05:00

Smaller City Rankings
1 Burlington-South Burlington, VT

2 Ithaca, NY

3 Corvallis, OR

4 Springfield, MA

5 Wenatchee, WA

6 Charlottesville, VA

7 Boulder, CO

8 Madison, WI

9 Binghamton, NY

10 Champaign-Urbana, IL

11 Ann Arbor, MI

12 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA

13 La Crosse, WI-MN

14 Pittsfield, MA

15 Eau Claire, WI

16 Durham, NC

17 Norwich-New London, CT

18 Eugene-Springfield, OR

19 San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA

20 Chico, CA

21 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA

22 Barnstable Town, MA

23 Utica-Rome, NY

24 Missoula, MT

25 Asheville, NC

The Best Green Places study, which is based on data discovered by Sperling's BestPlaces, examines 24 data metrics in 5 major categories -- including air and watershed quality, mass transit usage, power usage, farmers markets, organic producers, and number of green-certified buildings -- to determine which metro areas are the best places to live a green life.

Sperling's BestPlaces ranked the 379 major metropolitan areas, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Over 80 percent of all U.S. residents live in these 379 metro areas. Data was collected from sources which include the Census Source: Sperling's Places Rated

Conscious Communities Gets Recognition

2007-03-17T03:03:00.000-05:00

The Pew Partnership for Civic Change's Smart Communities Blog listed Conscious Communities as one of the most engaging blogs out there. This acknowledgement is very much appreciated. Thank you.

Check out Suzanne's Smart Communities Blog.

100 Most Wealthy Communities, with Populations of 10,000-50,000 People

2007-03-16T06:02:00.000-05:00

Most wealthy U.S. communities with populations in the 10,000 to 50,000 range. (Click table to enlarge it.)

Don Iannone on Community Economic Leadership

2007-03-15T06:17:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, I have been doing research on and speaking about economic development leadership issues over the past couple years.

If you would like a sample of my thoughts on economic development leadership, please feel free to click on this link and download a 2005 keynote presentation I gave at the Pacific-Northwest Economic Development Council's Annual Conference in Portland, Oregon.

I would be most interested in your thoughts. Email me.

Glimpse of Boise, Idaho

2007-03-14T10:34:00.000-05:00

Boise is the capital and the most populous city of the State of Idaho. Boise was given its name after French-Canadian trappers first explored the area after crossing the arid desert plains. Finding green trees at the site, primarily cottonwoods along the river, they named it boisé (meaning "wooded"). Boise has consequently been given the nickname City of Trees.

The original Fort Boise was 40 miles west, down the Boise River, near the confluence with the Snake River at the Oregon border. This fort was erected by the Hudson's Bay Company in the 1830s. It was abandoned in the 1850s, but massacres along the Oregon Trail prompted the U.S. Army to re-establish a fort in the area in 1863, during the U.S. Civil War. The new location was selected because it was near the intersection of the Oregon Trail and a major road connecting the Boise Basin (Idaho City) and the Owyhee mining areas, both booming at the time.

Idaho City was the largest city in the area, but the new Fort Boise grew rapidly (as a staging area to Idaho City) and Boise was incorporated as a city in 1864. The first capital of Idaho was Lewiston, but Boise replaced it in 1865. As of the 2000 census, Boise's population was 185,787. According to the 2005 Census estimates, the city proper had an estimated population of 193,161. Downtown Boise is at an elevation of 2704 feet above sea level.

Boise is the headquarters for several major companies, such as Washington Group International (successor to Morrison Knudsen), Micron Technology, Albertsons (a major supermarket chain now owned by SuperValu), the J.R. Simplot Company and Hewlett Packard's printer division. Other major industries are headquartered in Boise or have large manufacturing facilities there. High Tech industries are becoming increasingly vital to Boise's economy. State government is one of the city's main employers, as it is the capital city for Idaho and home of Boise State University. Boise is the county seat of Ada County and the principal city of the Boise metropolitan area, the Treasure Valley.

Boise has grown considerably in recent years and is now comparable in size to other midsize cities at the center of their own metropolitan areas in the United States such as Grand Rapids, Des Moines, Tulsa, and Providence.

Earlham College: Conscious Institution

2007-03-13T08:45:00.000-05:00

Because of my work in Richmond, Indiana, I have gotten to know Earlham College better. This is a "conscious institution" that imparts consciousness to its community.

Founded in 1847 by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Earlham College is an independent, four-year, coeducational, residential institution of higher learning.

Among the nation's academically strongest liberal arts colleges, Earlham develops in its students broad and deep competencies in both traditional and emerging disciplinary and interdisciplinary fields.

Moreover, the College educates students to live and work effectively together with others; to value lifelong learning; to appreciate cultural, ethnic and religious diversity; and to become engaged global citizens.

Earlham Community Principles:

Boulder, Colorado's New Pioneers

2007-03-12T06:17:00.000-05:00

According to Webster's New World dictionary, a pioneer is “one who goes before, preparing the way for others.”

The individuals honored as Boulder's “New Pioneers” are aptly named.They are leading our community, and the world, with their innovative achievements and contributions.

2006 Honorees:

Henry Beer Richard Foy Lorrie Shepard Rich Castro Michael Gilliland Mo Siegel Libby Cook Janet Martin Rick Sterling Steve Demos Andy Pruitt Otis Taylor Helen Forster Michael Rice Stephen White Nick Forster Robert Scaer Rona Wilensky

The Chautauqua Institution

2007-03-11T06:21:00.000-05:00

The Chautauqua Institution is a not-for-profit, 750-acre educational center beside Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New York State, where approximately 7,500 persons are in residence on any day during a nine-week season, and a total of over 142,000 attend scheduled public events. Over 8,000 students enroll annually in the Chautauqua Summer Schools which offer courses in art, music, dance, theater, writing skills and a wide variety of special interests.

The Institution, originally the Chautauqua Lake Sunday School Assembly, was founded in 1874 as an educational experiment in out-of-school, vacation learning. It was successful and broadened almost immediately beyond courses for Sunday school teachers to include academic subjects, music, art and physical education.

Read more about the Chautauqua Institution here.

Top Rated College Towns

2007-03-10T06:46:00.000-05:00

College towns are special places. The higher education institutions they host are magnets for information, knowledge, creativity, art, and culture. You might agrument these places have a special advantage as "conscious communities." Which are the top rated ones nationally?

Here is what ePodunk says...

Big Cities

1 Boston-Cambridge, MA

2 Minneapolis, MN

3 Denver, CO

4 Columbus, OH

5 Seattle, WA

6 Atlanta, GA

7 Austin, TX

8 Washington, DC

9 Cincinnati, OH

10 Saint Louis, MO

Medium Sized Cities

1 Columbia, SC

2 Tallahassee, FL

3 Madison, WI

4 Urbana-Champaign, IL

5 Ann Arbor, MI

6 Berkeley, CA

7 Athens, GA

8 Fort Collins, CO

9 New Haven, CT

10 Provo, UT

Small Cities

1 Charlottesville, VA

2 Bozeman, MT

3 Hays, KS

4 Boulder, CO

5 Missoula, MT

6 Manhattan, KS

7 Burlington, VT

8 Bismarck, ND

9 Iowa City, IA

10 Chapel Hill, NC

Towns

1 Hanover, NH

2 Princeton, NJ

3 Brookings, SD

4 Middlebury, VT

5 Durango, CO

6 Bronxville, NY

7 Menomonie, WI

8 Oneonta, NY

9 Rolla, MO

10 Conway, SC

Source: ePodunk

Creative Communities

2007-03-09T07:26:00.001-05:00

The mission of Creative Communities is to expand access to serious, progressive instruction in the performing, literary and visual arts for children and youth living in public housing communities in order to improve their quality of life and promote skills leading to greater self-sufficiency. Through a competitive application process, 20 community schools of the arts and their housing partners were awarded three-year grants of $135,000 to implement Creative Communities projects in their respective cities.

Integral to the success of the Creative Communities mission is the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts’ role in providing training and technical assistance to each of the 20 sites. The National Guild is also responsible for the initiative’s strategic planning; evaluation; sharing of best practices and marketing strategies.

Creative Communities is more than a "project." It is an arts education, youth development and community building strategy that partners community schools of the arts with their local housing authorities to provide youth in public housing communities with high quality, sequential arts instruction during non-school hours and on weekends. The National Guild, through a cooperative agreement with the National Endowment for the Arts and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is responsible for the overall implementation of the Initiative in 20 separate states. Creative Communities represents a $4.65 million investment in and commitment to community arts education.

One example of a Creative Communities Project is the Cleveland Public Theatre.

Cleveland Public Theatre (CPT), founded in 1981, presents performed work that addresses the issues and challenges of modern life. It is CPT’s philosophy that the arts can literally change the world, enhancing the quality of life in the community, and enhancing the dignity of human beings with whom the arts come in contact. CPT seeks to achieve this objective through the strategic selection of programming and through the investment of its resources in artists and communities that are traditionally "under served." CPT’s mission to bring arts into the lives of under served populations extends naturally into its educational program. Since its inception, CPT has been conducting free theatre classes for youth, focusing on inner city teenagers and their needs for a creative avenue for healthy self-expression.

Partnering with the Free Clinic and Safe Space (a runaway shelter), Cleveland Public Theatre began workshops for teenagers in 1985. Offering theatre classes for local youth, CPT expanded its classes into a full educational program in 1990, creating CLEVELAND ACT NOW!, which began building theatre education partnerships in the Cleveland Public Schools using the excitement of theatre arts as a powerful tool for nurturing personal, social, academic and artistic growth.

Cleveland Public Theatre: www.cptonline.org

Top Issues for Small Towns

2007-03-08T06:09:00.000-05:00

According to the Boomtown Institite, here are the top ten issues facing small towns in America:

1. Sense of Place - What unique attributes set you apart from other towns? It started in the revitalization of downtowns and has spread to arts and recreational assets. Trails, agri-tourism, recreational land, bird watching and other non-traditional assets are becoming increasingly important in developing a special sense of place for a community.

2. Green - Alternative energy such as wind, solar, ethanol and biodiesel are changing communities and creating some very unique new opportunities. Green products and buildings are gaining in usage. Branding examples like Bio Town, IN are leading edge.

3. Art Meccas - Emerging art towns that are actively recruiting in artists who want to own their own studio/house, which an amazingly small number of artists are able to do in larger cities. Paducah, KY is the best example but much smaller towns are emerging (e.g. Cordell, OK and Palestine, IL).

4. Third Coast - Led by “halfbackers” who moved to a coastal state but because of rising costs, congestion and other headaches are moving half-way back home. Draw a line from MT down to AZ and across to NC. These states/regions along this line have some unique opportunities to take advantage of this trend.

5. Non-PMS Entrepreneurs - The traditional “Pale, Male & Stale” entrepreneur is being supplanted by females, minorities, immigrants and others. This trend will explode with the millennial generation, the most entrepreneurial generation in the history of the USA.

6. Taste of Place - People are beginning to value the place through its products, mostly food related. It started with wine but is spreading to cheese, honey, maple syrup, olive oil and other products.

7. Labor Shortage - Quickly developing into a major impediment in many rural towns. Some are starting to tap into their “brain banks” of former residents to solve.

8. Angel Investor Networks - Growing from only 20 to over 250 in the last 10 years, these generally regional initiatives are growing in importance. States like WI and IA have incentivated with investment tax credits, which more states will follow.

9. Local - The spinach scare followed by the green onion debacle at Taco Bell’s in 2006 is causing people to reevaluate their food sources. Local production is going to be increasingly prized.

10. Regionalism - As the world becomes smaller, the political boundaries of the 18th Century become less important. Visionary leaders are embracing the concept of regionalism to enhance the opportunities for their citizens.

New Census Reports on Racial and Ethnic Demographics

2007-03-07T06:42:00.000-05:00

These three reports present a portrait of racial and ethnic population groups in the United States based on data from the 2004 American Community Survey. Each report provides information on a number of characteristics (e.g., education, household type, income, commuting, etc.).

Data are presented in tables, figures, and maps. In addition, the Asian and Hispanic reports present data for selected detailed groups (Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese for Asians; Guatemalans, Hondurans, Salvadorans, Colombians, Ecuadorians, and Peruvians for Hispanics). Two additional reports on the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population and the American Indian and Alaska Native population will be released later this year.

Download the reports here:

American Community, Hispanics, 2004

American Community, Blacks, 2004

American Community, Asians, 2004

Community Psychology

2007-03-06T05:27:00.000-05:00

Understanding the psychology of communities is important to conscious community-building. There is a field of community psychology. What is it all about?

Community psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with person-environment interactions and the ways society impacts upon individual and community functioning. Community psychology focuses on social issues, social institutions, and other settings that influence individuals, groups, and organizations.

Community psychology is about understanding people within their social worlds and using this understanding to improve people's well-being. Researchers systematically examine the ways individuals interact with other individuals, social groups, clubs, churches, schools, families, neighborhoods, and the larger culture and environment. It is an applied discipline where researchers examine various social issues including poverty, substance abuse, school failure, community development, economic development, risk and protective factors, empowerment, diversity, prevention, intervention, delinquency, high risk behaviors, aggression, violence, and many other topics.

Learn more about community psychology here.

Economic Development Leader: New Blog

2007-03-05T07:34:00.000-05:00

Dear Reader:

For those of you interested in leadership issues, you may find my new blog, Economic Development Leader, to be of interest. Click here to access ED Leader.

Don Iannone

Leader as Steward

2007-03-05T07:27:00.000-05:00

My thinking about leadership has shifted dramatically as a result of my strategic planning work with communities and regions. Increasingly, I have been giving emphasis to leaders as stewards; a concept I initially learned from the noted organization and leadership guru, Peter Senge. Here is what Senge has to say on the leader as steward.

By stewardship. Senge means that someone (or perhaps some group) within the organization needs to accept responsibility for ensuring that everyone who works in the organization is clear about why it exists.

In economic development, that means engendering broad-based prosperity, innovation, and competitiveness in an area. All three are needed, and together they explain why we are here; that is why economic development exists as a field.

In the "learning" organization, Senge (1990) says everything we do is connected to learning. Learning enables organizations to become successful in achieving their goals. This is also true for ED organizations.

As stewards, it is important that the leaders of an ED organization, including the ED CEO, be charged with ensuring that the organization's vision is put into practice, and that the decisions that are made on a day-to-day basis are consistent with the vision.

The act of stewardship means being entrusted with the responsibility for something. ED leaders are entrusted with the invaluable economic assets of a community, region or state.

Reference:

Senge, Peter, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. Doubleday, 1990.

Sense of Place

2007-03-04T06:57:00.000-05:00

U.S. EPA's Green Communities Program

2007-03-02T07:06:00.000-05:00

EPA's Green Communities Program is a web-based toolkit and planning guide designed to help communities access the tools and information to help them become more sustainable, Green Communities.

The Green Communities toolkit is closely linked, for many communities, to the concept of smart growth. EPA's Smart Growth web page describes smart growth as development that serves the economy, the community, and the environment. It changes the terms of the development debate away from the traditional growth-no growth question to "how and where should new development be accommodated"

Learn more here.

What Does Conscious Mean?

2007-03-01T06:06:00.000-05:00

Conscious means having an awareness of one's inner and outer worlds; that is being mentally and emotionally perceptive, awake, and mindful. Yes, despite the protests from some, emotions are very real and important to our consciousness. See what Daniel Goleman has to say about this point.

Generally, when we concern ourselves with communities, we focus attention on outer realities. We concern ourselves with the physical or material dimension of communities, including downtown areas, neighborhoods, business areas, etc. We concern ourselves with what happens at the local community center or city hall. That's understandable, but not enough.

We also need to give attention to the inner realities of the people who live, work and play in communities. This is where our ideas, feelings, perceptions, desires, and so much more reside. These inner realities are what we bring forth into the outer world of community. Inner realities are very powerful and need much greater recognition as we work on conscious community-building.

And folks, it's more than marketing. So many times people reduce the inner reality dimension in these discussions to what type of marketing strategy a community should adopt to shape perceptions about the community. That is not the idea here! Most marketing is dishonest, manipulative, disingenuous, and it does a disservice to the human experience. Don't go there.

That being said, I see two interrelated challenges that must be met:

Build more conscious communities that create an environment in which greater consciousness can grow in citizens, business executives and owners, elected officials, public servants, educators, religious leaders, artists and creative types, and other stakeholders.
Develop more conscious people that can work together in giving birth to more conscious communities. Perhaps we should work on creating more conscious leaders! These conscious people must possess great self-awareness, as well as awareness of others. Self-awareness is almost always a prerequisite to other-awareness. As Plato reminds us "The unexamined life is not worth living."

The question is how do we tackle these twin challenges. Here are a few starting thoughts:

Create experiences allowing people to expand their consciousness of what a community is all about. This is more than telling them about this or that in the community. People need to experience the community first-hand through visits, meetings, conversations, and other vehicles. They need multi-sensory experiences that engage all of the senses, not just our visual sense. People need to develop a sense of place and also here. Getting a sense of the power of place is also important. Also try this power of place website.
Create experiences allowing people to increase their self-awareness and other-awareness in communities. What mental images do people have about themselves, others, and the community in an overall sense? Guided imagery is a powerful technique in helping people gain this awareness.

These are two starting points. What are your ideas? I would enjoy hearing them.

Finding the Sacred in Place

2007-02-27T09:31:00.000-05:00

All of life is sacred, including the places we find ourselves. What is it we mean when we use the term "sacred?"

The sacred is that which is the object of veneration and awe. The term comes from the Latin sacer meaning restricted or set off. A person may be designated as sacred, and so can an object or a place which is regarded as extraordinary or unique.

The term sacer is closely related to numen meaning mysterious power or god. Numinous is used to describe the sacred to indicate its power. Various traditions around the world have a term which correlates with sacer. In Hebrew the term is qadosh, in Greek hagios, in Arabic muqaddas, and in Polynesian tapu. Correlates of numen are found in the Sanskrit word Brahman, in the Sioux wakanda, the Melanesian mana, and the old German word haminja meaning luck.

Thoughts Inspiring Consciousness

2007-02-26T09:25:00.000-05:00

It has become clear to me that our age, if it is to deliver on its promise, needs people capable of real heroism - not the kind of heroism that ends up in glory - but the kind that ends up bringing out and making available the truth, what works, what is honest and real. --Warner Erhard

We know ourselves to be made from this earth. We know this earth is made from our bodies. For we see ourselves. And we are nature. We are nature seeing nature. We are nature with a concept of nature. Nature speaking of nature to nature. -- Susan Griffin

I do not know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be truly happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.--Albert Schweitzer

The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision. It has got to be a vision that you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion. -- Theodore Hesburgh

What is a Sustainable Community?

2007-02-24T18:50:00.000-05:00

According to the Austin Sustainable Communities Initiative, a sustainable community is one whose prospects for long-term health are good. Its residents do not deplete the resources that they depend on faster than those resources are replenished. Specific characteristics include:

respect for basic rights and recognition of basic responsibilities
living within ecological carrying capacity
equal opportunities for individual development
a diverse economic base
a vibrant democracy - with an informed, involved citizenry
protection of natural diversity
improving the minimum standard of living
maximizing the use of people's abilities while minimizing the use of natural resources.

Consciousness

2007-02-23T09:19:00.000-05:00

Consciousness is perhaps one of the most mystifying aspects of our existence. When I use the term to refer to being conscious, I usually mean awareness, including self-awareness. The term for me also refers to our most intimate experience of ourselves; that is our encounter with our interiority, giving us our deepest sense of "I am-ness."

Communities contribute to our sense of "I am-ness" in so many ways. They also help us from becoming self-consumed with ourselves and becoming aware of our larger connections to the universe. Both are important: that we are in touch with own sense of being; and that we are in touch with our sense of being a part of it all. The latter is said in many religious traditions to be one of the most sacred and special spiritual realizations.

As I sit in the sunshine watching the ancient boulder rocks in Carefree, Arizona, a glimmer of a feeling of being a part of it all arises within me. Place has a way of helping us arrive at this experience It's simply extraordinary!

Conscious Place-Making

2007-02-22T06:26:00.001-05:00

Oregon works at creating and preserving a strong ethic of sustainability and sense of place. Bend and Portland are two Oregon communities that do this very well. Click here to see what Sustainable Oregon is doing.

Looking for information on how to develop in a "conscious" manner? Check out this place-making guide here.

Transforming Thoughts about Community

2007-02-21T08:22:00.000-05:00

"I am a part of all that I have met." --Alfred Lord Tennyson

"The first duty of a human being is to assume the right functional relationship to society--more briefly, to find your real job, and do it." --Charlotte Perkins Gilman

"One generation plants the trees; another gets the shade." --Chinese proverb

"I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can." --George Bernard Shaw

"When they are alone they want to be with others, and when they are with others they want to be alone. After all, human beings are like that." --Gertrude Stein

Northwest Pennsylvania Communities

2007-02-20T14:37:00.000-05:00

A few communities I have met and seen their goodness...

Top to Bottom: (Oil City, Recent, Zelienople, 1948, Clarion, Recent, Franklin, 2006, Warren, 2006

Roots of the Word "Community"

2007-02-19T13:35:00.000-05:00

The word community comes from the Latin communis, meaning "common, public, shared by all or many."

<--(East Cleveland, OH, Euclid Avenue in 1951)

The Latin term communitatus from which the English word "community" comes, is comprised of three elements, "Com-" - a Latin prefix meaning with or together, "-Munis-" - ultimately Proto-Indo-European in origin, it has been suggested that it means "the changes or exchanges that link" and "-tatus" a Latin suffix suggesting diminutive, small, intimate or local.

German sociologist, Ferdinand Tönnies, presented a concise differentiation between the terms "community" (gemeinschaft) and "society" (gesellschaft). In his 1887 work, Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft, Tönnies argued that "community" is perceived to be a tighter and more cohesive social entity within the context of the larger society, due to the presence of a "unity of will." He added that family and kinship were the perfect expressions of community but that other shared characteristics, such as place or belief, could also result in gemeinschaft.

If the sense of community exists, both freedom and security exist as well. The community then takes on a life of its own, as people become free enough to share and secure enough to get along. The sense of connectedness and formation of social networks comprise what has become known as social capital.

Social capital is defined by Harvard University Political Scientist Robert D. Putnam as "the collective value of all social networks (who people know) and the inclinations that arise from these networks to do things for each other (norms of reciprocity)."

2007-02-18T13:14:00.000-05:00

About This Blog

This new blog explores the complex and essential nature of community in our lives. We live and we die in communities; from the tiniest crossroad towns to the largest megapolitan areas. Conscious Communities looks at community from various vantage points, and it offers a new way to conceive of communities, as we move forward into the future.

This new view encourages us to see communities as having the potential to rise and grow as places or centers of heightened awareness and expression. By heightened awareness and expression, there is an intention to point to the effect of community, in its many dimensions, on our consciousness, or our deepest sense of ourselves. It is in this vein that this blog is given its name: Conscious Communities. Communities should inspire and exhort their citizens' consciousness, and citizens should in return use that inspiration and exhortation to lift up and sustain their communities.

On one level, each of us is conscious, that is perceptually aware, of the communities we know and have experience with. There is more. Have we considered the possibility that communities are powerful agents co-creating our most basic consciousness? Have we considered the possibility that our most intimate and personal interiority is in part supported and shaped by what we take to be community?

Have we considered the possibility that we owe, in part, our capacity for heightened awareness and expression to those communities in which we live, work and play? So too, our communities, when beset by social, economic, political and ecological problems, diminish our capacity for heightened awareness and expression. For our communities to support and sustain us, we must support and sustain them.

Finally, have we evolved a view of our communities as conscious creations, flowing from our individual and collective thoughts, feelings and actions? In this sense, do our communities reflect our deepest, most honest, and good intentions? Absent these intentions, we have what we see all too often: Communities divided against themselves, a growing loss of commitment to community, a decline in community pride, violence, illiteracy, poverty, hate, fear, and near devastating ecological damage.

Communities play a central role in shaping all aspects of human life. This blog has been created in recognition and celebration of communities as conscious connecting, gathering, creating, sustaining, learning, producing and integrating centers for human beings.

At times, we are prone to romanticize and idealize community because we long to feel connected to the whole of life. Because we simply want to belong...to something. Sadly, many of us have lost our sense of belonging to community, family, our work, and even ourselves. On the other end of our romanticization is demonization, where we project our sense of alienation and loss onto our most basic community institutions, such as the schools, city hall, or churches. And yes, at times these institutions do fail us, and crush rather than lift our civic commitment.

The 19th century French sociologist Emile Durkheim used the term anomie in referring to the sense of malaise in individuals, characterized by an absence or diminution of standards or values, which Durkheim attributed to the failure of religious institutions in sustaining faith and our overall sense of being connected spiritually. Durkheim also pointed to the division of labor dominating economic life since the Industrial Revolution leading individuals to pursue egoistic (individualistic) ends rather than seeking the good of the larger community.

Many of the sociologists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries pointed to the alienating effects of modernization. Alienation refers to the individual's estrangement from traditional community and others in general. The 19th century German economic philosopher Karl Marx's theory of alienation refers to the separation of things that naturally belong together, or to the antagonism between things that are properly in harmony. In the concept's most important use, it refers to the alienation of people from aspects of their "human nature." In today's age of George W. Bush Bourgeoisie ideology, these ideas appear incomprehensible. After all, who would dare criticize the engines of Capitalism as causal agents in our loss of sense of community and overall human connectedness?

Politics, hidden behind the mask of government and public service, has also robbed us of our sense of community. Only the most naive, or incurably gullible, would miss the abuse of power taking place in the name of community goverance today. And yes, people of all walks of life consciously choose to embed their self or group interests in the political process. All, you might say, in the name of community.

Have things really changed over time when it comes to our treatment of community? There has always been an unmistakable and irresolvable tension between self and community interest. What is our way out? Could a new vantage point looking at the intersection of consciousness and community help ease this tension? That is the experiment this new blog aims to carry out.

We manifest our communities out of our consciousness. We give birth to them by the way we think and feel about them. Our cynicism kills of hope and faith in communities. Our unidimensional view of communities robs them of their richness and dynamic nature. Our unconsciousness of the connectedness of the whole of life cheats us out of our sense of belonging and connection with our communities.

In many ways, communities are sadly under-estimated, and possibly under-valued, in today's fast-paced, ever-changing world. It seems it is always something else that is more important; be that our individual wants and desires, our families and personal relationships, local or state government, our major corporations, or the global economy. Yet, when we think about it, we see that our communities, and the personal relationships we have with them, provide one of the most essential building blocks for society. Communities have a civilizing influence on us through our daily interaction with other citizens. They are the local lenses through which we see and come to understand many other aspects of the world and our lives.

Communities are truly complex human organizations that exist in geographic places. As such, communities are located in time and space, and find locality in the natural environment. Yes, our communities exist within nature, which reminds us to build our communities in a sustainable fashion.

The complexity of communities is explained by their multi-dimensional natures, which include ten intersecting and co-existing realities: 1) social; 2) cultural; 3) economic; 4) political; 5) technological; 6) spiritual or religious; 7) creative; 8) educational; 9) personal and interpersonal psychological; and 10) ecological. While many may argue that communities are determined to a greater degree by one or more of these realities, Conscious Communities sees each as playing a vitally important role that only it can play. The articles and stories shared here reflect each of these realities. Each is important in giving rise to heightened awareness and expression in our communities.

While not often thought of in this way, communities are powerful incubators of the human spirit. They house us, nurture us and challenge us to grow. Communities are centers of collective energy, talent, meaning and awareness. In this sense, communities are very powerful, especially when they draw together their various energies in service to the human spirit. Yes, communities, like all else, should be in service of the spirit; for that is our most essential nature.

By spirit, no particular religious view is intended. This blog should be a confortable place for people of all faiths, or no faith at all, to come, share and celebrate community as an essential foundation of spirit. Moreover, all should feel welcome to draw upon various modalities for knowledge and understanding as they seek to make community real for themselves in a spiritual consciousness sense. As such, the community resident, spiritual teacher, student, scientist, community planner, worker, economic and community developer, local elected official, business owner and executive, educator, philanthropist, medical doctor, human service and counseling professional, retired person, poet, writer and artist should all feel equally welcome here at Conscious Communities.

Conscious Communities' Author

Don Iannone is a spiritually-based organizational and community change agent and strategic planning consultant based in Cleveland, Ohio. For the past thirty years, his work has been to strengthen the economic life of communities. To most, he has been known as an economic development strategy consultant.

Don's work since the mid-1970s has carried him to 41 states and 13 countries. While the vast majority of his work has been in the United States, Don firmly believes that the future of communities will be influenced to an even greater degree in the future by global economics and transformational technology shifts. Things and events outside local communities will be even greater forces for change. Don also believes that the future of communities rests in the hands of people, and the degree to which they hold the right intentions, make the right choices and take the right action to develop and cultivate their communities. He believes that communities can muster and exhibit great wisdom, creativity, and heightened awareness and expression when such things are intended, upheld and allowed to sprout socially, culturally, economically, politically, and creatively.

In addition to Don's work with communities and organizations, he is a published poet and author, and public speaker. His poetry blog, can be found at: http://conscious-living.blogspot.com Finally, Don has a daily meditation and yoga practice. His undergraduate education is in Anthropology and Psychology and his graduate training is in Organizational Behavior. He is currently completing a new Masters Degree in Consciousness Studies, which is an emerging field, drawing upon world religions, psychology, philosophy, mind-body medicine and science in advancing our understanding of human consciousness.

Welcome to Conscious Communities

2007-02-10T08:35:00.000-05:00